


Gods and Lovebirds

by Sayevtsye



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-08-09 21:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 61,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7817212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sayevtsye/pseuds/Sayevtsye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Death the Kid had always found missions on the school board to be fairly easy, barely any trouble. One mission ended in a loss that broke his soul. She brought it back together, but he has a lot more to learn, and a lot more strife to face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was just a usual, boring mission.  
That was all. That was all it was supposed to be. A hit and run kind of mission. A get in, get out, go check that everything was symmetrical in the house within the hour kind of mission.  
So why was it going like this?  
Kid groaned and rolled onto his side, cradling his ribs. He knew several of them were broken. He couldn’t hear very well. He could hear the distant shouts of Liz and Patty- telling him to get up. It was all so foggy. He must’ve taken a hard hit to the head when that rubble fell.  
Yes, that’s right. The explosion of the building. He fell several stories to have rubble fall on him. Slowly the world spun back into focus, his gold eyes sharpening.  
“Kid, look out!” Liz screamed from his left hand, in her weapon form.  
The reaper saw the blur coming towards him and rolled, stumbling to his feet, wincing as everything began to ache. The kishin egg spun around, scrambling around on six legs, honestly it was a horrifying sight. It was a black beast that didn’t resemble a human anymore. It had a large gaping jaw, mandibles clacking in constant motion. It scuttled around clacking and shifting on its six, spiked legs with human-like hands on the front two. Its body was split into three parts, the first its head. The middle section was bulbous and black eggs grew and fell off of it continuously. The eggs would hatch within five minutes to make something even worse than the mother. The last section was polished black with spikes protruding from it randomly. It clacked and scuttled. Kid could almost swear it was grinning at the sorry state he was in.  
He spared a brief glance to the kishin egg’s- dubbed Daruka by his father when he was briefed on this mission- growing army. They were roughly humanoid, their bodies black and spindly with gaping sores every which way that oozed blue liquid. Their faces were the only thing they inherited from their mother. So much clacking from so many mandibles was driving him insane.  
“You’re…. mine… to… eat…” Daruka clacked joyfully, her voice barely understandable through its thick, garbled tone.  
“You can try,” Kid growled out, raising his twin pistols and firing. Daruka screeched, clacking angrily as the wavelength bullets hit her. Her children bolted forward, eager to protect their mother, swarming the reaper. He leaped back, turning his aim to the children of the kishin egg.  
“Kid, there are too many!” Liz yelled. “You need to get to higher ground or else they’ll overwhelm you!”  
“Easier said than done, Daruka blew up the only high ground here, remember?” Kid grunted, referring to when Daruka shot a blast from her maw that caused the explosion of the building.  
This conversation occurred as Kid shot down numerous humanoids, their red souls floating in the air in their wake. Kid’s life became one of evading and attacking, fighting back his pain and his exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm him.  
He could feel his weapons’ worry for him through their resonance. They knew he was already at his limits, this fight had been going on for at least an hour, and that fall hadn’t done him any good either.  
Was he going to die here?  
He was a grim reaper, the son of Lord Death and… he was going to die? That simply couldn’t be right. How would he work to make the world a balanced place if he was dead? He couldn’t. He couldn’t die here.  
He was going to make it out alive.  
“Liz, Patty,” Kid said as he leaped backwards, gaining distance between himself and the enemy, “Time for death cannon.”  
“Got it.”  
“Kay!”  
His weapons answered him at the same time as he fell into a crouch, waiting from the affirmation from his partners that they were ready to fire. When Liz said they were, Kid didn’t waste any time in throwing his arms up and firing straight into the mass of insect-like kishin eggs.  
When the smoke cleared, only Daruka was left. She was on her back and she quickly scuttled onto her feet, hopping back up. There was barely a dent on her, but, Kid thought in relief both her children and the eggs growing on her appeared to be gone.  
That made things a little easier.  
“Again!” Kid yelled, repeatedly blasting the insect Daruka with death cannon.  
No matter how many times he hit her, she didn’t fall.  
“Kid, maybe we should retreat- our hits aren’t going through-“ Liz began.  
“No, she’s too close to becoming a full-fledged kishin. We need to stop Daruka right here, right now.” Kid frowned, “I just need time to think-“  
His response was cut short as he rolled to dodge an attack from Daruka’s legs. He rolled to his feet to see her coming at him again, a dark blur in the fading sunlight.  
“She wasn’t this fast before!” Kid growled, leaping and dodging.  
“The eggs must’ve been weighing her down!” Patty decided loudly.  
“Great,” Kid groaned.  
Thus began the game of cat and mouse, more so a game of insect and reaper. Kid dodged left and right, barely letting his feet touch the ground before he leaped out of the way again. Her mandibles, her legs, her spikes were everywhere. They didn’t end. It was black demise chasing him wherever he went. He couldn’t even get a single shot in.  
His back hit a wall midway through his leap, the breath rushing from his body. He barely looked up when pain erupted through his abdomen. Blood gushed into his mouth. He looked into the maw of Daruka just as she pulled her pointed hand out from his body. He fell to his knees, his head turning to static.  
Maybe he would die today.

 

Kid hadn’t exactly been expecting to wake up. When he did, he didn’t know where he was. Not for a moment, anyway. The events came rushing back and he tried to sit up only to grimace in pain and clutch at his stomach. The wound was already beginning to heal thanks to his reaper body, at least the bleeding had stopped. He looked around, frantic. Then he saw Daruka as she fell the ground, a shot straight through the head as Liz fell to the ground, blood pooling from chest.  
“Gotcha,” Liz breathed before she collapsed beside her sister.  
Kid screamed.  
He could picture what had happened.  
He passed out from his wound and Liz and Patty dragged him to safety while Daruka was distracted from a bluff shot to the neck. Liz and Patty fighting how they did together, Patty as a pistol. Liz shooting desperately before Patty got wounded even though she was in weapon form. Liz fired a lucky shot that went in through Daruka’s mouth and out the back of the head before Patty shifted form and collapsed. Daruka making one last hit before she vanished.  
Kid rushed to the Thompson sisters, tears threatening to spill, “Liz, Patty, no!”  
He saw Liz’s soul rise from her body, the wound to her chest almost an instant cause of death. Patty’s lingered in her body, weak but still holding on. Tears fell unabashed down Kid’s cheeks.  
Patty whimpered and opened her eyes, looking up at Kid with a faded gaze, she pulled a brazen smile, “We did it… Kid. Now the world… is safe, right?”  
Kid looked down at Patty’s wound, it had gone diagonally into the base of her neck several inches. There was no healing a wound like that. He carefully touched her forehead with one hand, the other grabbing a cloth from his pocket and desperately pressing it against her wound.  
“Y…yes, the world is safe. Thanks to you and Liz. You did great, Patty.” Kid murmured, brushing her blonde hair out of her face, where his tears fell.  
Her smile only widened as her eyes faded more, “Good.” Suddenly, she sobered, “Hey, Kid, beat up a giraffe for me, okay? I have one… in my room still… oh, it’s raining… I’ve never been in a rain that was only on my face before…” She murmured, referring to the tears that fell from Kid’s eyes.  
And then she was gone.  
Her soul rose to float with her sisters, Kid pulled them close and hugged them to his chest, hearing Patty’s giggles and Liz’s warm chuckles as they laughed about something he had done in the name of symmetry. He couldn’t hold back the sobs that rose from his throat. He stayed, cradling their souls for longer than the fight had taken. When the reaper finally opened his eyes, he had no tears left, only dry sobs. With despair blocking his throat, he opened his arms, looking at the two souls before him.  
“Rest well, my beloved partners. You’re the bravest people I’ve ever had the blessing to meet… I just wish… it didn’t end this way.” Kid bit his lip, trying to hold back another sob as he waved his hand over his partners’ souls, returning them to where all passed on souls go.  
He shakily rose to his feet and with one swipe of his hand, all the red souls disappeared, reappearing in the death room to where his father was. The father who was crying for his son’s loss.


	2. Chapter 2

Three months had passed since the last mission Kid had gone on. Three months since his weapons had lost their lives. Everyone worried for the young grim reaper, he wouldn’t talk unless prompted to, and his OCD was at an all-time high, lashing out at anyone who dared make anything unsymmetrical near him. He would barely leave his room, forcefully cleaning every second he was awake, sleeping restlessly when he wasn’t.  
No one knew what to do, nothing could help him in his grief. His friends would always hug him when they saw him, telling him they were sorry for his loss. He couldn’t even muster the strength to smile in thanks.  
His father would try to get any emotion from him, be it annoyance at his antics or shock at what he said. But Death the Kid had completely closed himself off. He refused to feel anything anymore, because otherwise the grief was too much.  
Maka and Soul watched worriedly as Kid walked down the halls of the DWMA, his hands in his pockets.  
“What can we do?” Maka wondered to herself out loud.  
Soul shrugged helplessly, “All we can do is be here for him. I can’t imagine what losing your partner is like.”  
Maka and Soul shared a look, worry and fear evident in their eyes, fearing that someday they would lose each other in a battle like Kid had lost Liz and Patty.  
They walked hand in hand to their next class.

One day, Blackstar had tried to elicit a different emotion from Kid- anger.  
Standing atop a spire of the DWMA, the loud assassin waited for Kid to walk up the steps. Kid barely had time to look up before half the spire crashed to the ground, Blackstar landing atop it.  
Kid’s glare was the fiercest yet in these happenings.  
“Blackstar….” Kid growled before he punched Blackstar in the face, sending him reeling back.  
Blackstar nodded, for once seeing emotion in Kid’s otherwise dull gold eyes, “alright, Kid! It’s time to revel in the beauty that is me and feel better about life!”  
“Nothing about you could make me feel better,” Kid said, almost harshly.  
It didn’t faze Blackstar in the least, “So now I will give you the pep talk of the century so that all your problems will be-“  
He was unable to finish his sentence as Kid kicked him flat in the stomach.  
It had been a good thing Tsubaki had rushed in and grabbed Blackstar, dragging him into the building before Kid could turn him into a pulp.  
Death the Kid spent the next five hours fixing the building, his eyes once again dull.

Another month passed before someone realized something was seriously wrong with Kid’s physical health. It was Marie who had noticed. The caring teacher always noticed anything wrong with her students.  
It occurred one day after classes were over. It was subtle, but it sent alarms off in Marie’s head. She had been walking down the hall, Kid going in the opposite direction when she saw from the corner of her eye that he swayed, his eyes beginning to roll up into his head before he quickly shook himself and kept walking.  
“Kid!” Marie yelped, spinning on a dime and rushing to the young reaper.  
“I’m fine,” Kid mumbled, trying to walk away.  
Marie gently grabbed his wrist, shocked at how thin it was, “Kid…”  
He didn’t fight back as the Death Scythe dragged him to the infirmary.

“Kid hasn’t been eating!?” Maka asked, shocked. Soul, Blackstar, and Tsubaki looked equally surprised.  
Nigus nodded slowly, “Yes, it’s a good thing Marie caught it now before he passed out in the manor- Lord Death doesn’t often end up there as he’s so busy with the academy so Kid is often alone there. I suppose it’s not surprising that we hadn’t noticed till now.”  
“How long do you think he’s been fasting?” Soul asked.  
“It’s hard to tell because of how strong and durable his body is, but it’s fairly likely that he’s barely eaten anything since their deaths,” Nigus frowned. “We have him on fluids now, but we’ll need to form a plan to make sure he eats.”  
The students nodded.  
Thus the “Death the Kid Must Eat” group was formed. It was a fairly small group, made of Maka, Soul, Blackstar, Tsubaki, Lord Death, and Nigus. Even Crona. One of them would always be around Kid at meal times, making sure he ate a sufficient amount each time.  
Kid gained back the weight he had lost in the last four months, but was otherwise unchanged.

Another month passed and the “Death the Kid Must Eat” group had formed a more elite, smaller group that excluded Lord Death and Nigus. This group was dubbed “Death the Kid’s Elite Friend Therapists.” Soul and Blackstar had named both groups.  
The group would appear every night at eight at Gallows Manor. They would form a circle, pulling Kid into it. And then they would all talk about whatever was bothering them. Kid never spoke during these sessions, but it was helping him. The haggard look on his face started easing. It helped everyone else too as they got their problems out in the open and everyone else would give their thoughts and otherwise counsel them. Soul eventually spoke of his fear of the black blood inside him. Maka told everyone her insecurities of not being able to be as amazing a meister as her mother was. Tsubaki would talk about her family and her childhood. Even Blackstar benefited, he spoke of the insecurities he had of being Star Clan and how he actually was bothered when someone mentioned it. Crona spoke most often, laying out all their fears, insecurities, and down thoughts. Ragnorak was decent enough not to interrupt them as they spoke after the many Maka Chops he got.  
Eventually, these sessions had to be cut down to once a week as missions and classes gained way, busying up everyone’s schedule. Kid was partially glad and partially sad for the loss of daily sessions. Glad because it freed up his evenings to check that the manor was in perfect condition and sad because it was nice having everyone around- always a constant in his day.

A month after the sessions turned weekly, Kid had actually mustered up the energy to go for a walk around Death City. Everyone was cheering when Lord Death had found him with his mirror. The Grim Reaper decided to leave his son in peace and let the image on the mirror vanish.  
Kid sighed, shoulders sagging, “They all worry too much.” He murmured. “I’m absolutely fine.”  
He summoned Beelzebub and rolled down the street, letting the fresh air blow away his thoughts. And then the images came. All these months and the memories were still fresh, the mass of insect-like creatures, the pain, and then his partners… oh how bloody his partners had been in their last moments. He bit his lip, nearly drawing blood. He should’ve done better. He should’ve been able to protect them. He had never loathed himself more.  
“Hey, watch out!”  
Kid focused back into the present to skid to a stop just before he ran into a girl that looked the same age as himself. She glared at him before rushing away on rollerblades, three blurs chasing after her. Color him intrigued. He kicked the ground, pushing himself forward on his skateboard.  
He found her again three minutes later, biting into an apple atop a fence. The three blurs, who had ended up being three men, lay in a heap below her, knocked out. She looked down at him with silver eyes that sparked with mischief.  
“Can I help you, skater boy?” She asked between bites of her apple.  
“I thought you were in trouble, I came to help.”  
“How noble, well, all the trouble is gone, so no worries.” She rolled her eyes.  
Kid raised an eyebrow, quickly looking her up and down. She wore a navy blue beanie with her hair pulled back into it so all he could see of her lilac hair was around her hairline. She wore a black turtleneck that was tucked into a pair of jean shorts. She had tattoos. On her right leg she had three black arrows pointing down on the side of her thigh. On her left thigh she had a tribal bird tattooed in black flying up. On her left calf he could see part of another tattoo that looked like a tree branch, he couldn’t see all of it due to the black rollerblades with blue streak designs covering her feet up to a bit past her ankles. And he could swear he could see the tip of a letter underneath the collar of her sweater.  
“What’s your name?” Kid asked.  
“None of your business,” the girl scoffed before leaping from the fence down to the opposite side as Kid.  
He wasn’t sure how she managed to land so perfectly on the wheels of her rollerblades. He was still wondering at this when she skated away. He sighed and turned around, continuing his walk. He could find only two words that described her appearance: delinquent and rebel.

He ran into her again an hour later, on his way back to the academy. She was standing proud and tall with her arms crossed as ten men stood before her. Several had licked their lips with forked tongues, grinning viciously. Kid’s eyes widened as he realized they were very young kishin eggs- a gang of them. He could sense more in the shadows. The girl stretched, yawning. “I don’t have time for this.” At the sound of Kid’s wheels skidding to a halt she turned her head to look at him. She raised an eyebrow, “Are you stalking me?”  
“What? No.” Kid sighed. “I just always end up where the trouble is.”  
“Oh, well, in that case, welcome to the club,” she grinned before a pale silver crossbow formed in her hand. If the light hit it right, it was see through. Kid’s eyes widened as she started shooting shining silver bolts from the weapon, one hit for each kishin egg. Soon they were all gone. And so was she. Kid looked around until he saw her shrinking form disappearing down the street. He could swear she swung a peace sign his way before vanishing behind a corner.  
Kid just stared at the spot he last saw her. The reaper shook himself and began his walk back to the academy.  
Could he just once have a normal, peaceful walk?


	3. Chapter 3

Maka and Soul watched once again as Kid walked down the steps of the DWMA into the city, for a week now he had been going on daily walks, yet he never said what he did or where he went. There was something new in his eyes; intrigue. They all wanted to find out what had gotten Kid to begin recovering, but Lord Death had ordered no one follow him. Lord Death wanted his son to get better, and he’d gladly be curious and in the dark about why Kid’s eyes were filled with intrigue if it meant his dear son got back to his usual self. All the academy students noticed a decrease in Kid’s anger bursts as well- it was okay to be a tad asymmetrical around him now.  
The academy had shared a giant sigh of relief.

Kid was on his sixth walk since he first ran into that girl, named Birdie, as he found out on his third walk. On that walk he actually sat down and talked to her for a while, and they exchanged names. It made up for the fact he hadn’t been able to hunt her down the on the second walk. His lips twitched into a ghost of a smile as he recalled that third walk.  
He had found her sitting atop a statue of his father’s mask, cloud gazing.  
“It seems we keep running into each other, None of Your Business,” Kid said calmly.  
She looked down and grinned a toothy grin, “Call me Birdie for short.”  
“Alright, Birdie, I’m Death the Kid.” He nodded.  
Her jaw dropped, “Dude that means I’m sitting on your father’s head!” She cackled, feet and wheels kicking in the sunlight.  
Kid had just raised an eyebrow.  
Soon after that short interaction, she had flipped off the statue and skated away backwards. Birdie was very skilled with rollerblades. Kid was indeed impressed with her skill.  
That was also the walk that he noticed two more tattoos, a number “2” etched behind her right ear and a paper crane inked into the back of her right hand.  
The fourth and fifth walks were spent in silence with her.  
He had only been partially looking for her those two times, she had actually found him.  
She didn’t say a single word, instead just skated beside him, her eyes sometimes closed for a solid minute.  
Kid had enjoyed those two walks, the mysterious girl with the strange name had a calming presence. At one point he had thought he sensed his deceased partners in her.  
But that was crazy, of course.  
Now, on the sixth walk, he was having trouble finding her. He was so confused by this girl, Birdie. She didn’t make any sense, that transparent crossbow, the tattoos, the calming presence, the way her beanie never fell off, how she could disappear at any moment as if she knew the entire city like the back of her hand (she did), and why she kept showing up around him.  
He didn’t have an answer for anything. And as everyone knew, Death the Kid would hunt down answers to the ends of the earth and to the moon or further if necessary.  
He was a perfectionist, after all.  
Kid jumped as a small explosion went off a few blocks away, lighting up the night sky. Summoning Beelzebub, he rode to the scene. And saw a lot going on.  
He first noticed that there was in fact a gang of kishin eggs that had somehow been growing in Death City without the academy noticing. The thought made him grimace. The second thing was that there was a human gang, presumably made of mostly meisters and weapons that were not a part of the academy, in Death City without the academy noticing. That didn’t bother him so much. The third thing he noticed was that Birdie was standing on the human gang side beside a very tall, very muscled man with so many tattoos that Kid couldn’t count them.  
Kid’s mind quickly connected the dots. Birdie was in a gang. Her gang was fighting a gang made of kishin eggs. There was a gang war in Death City. The academy was terrible at paying attention to the happenings of Death City.  
All of this clicked together in less than two seconds. That was also the amount of time it took for all hell to break loose. Kid tracked the battle with skilled eyes as Birdie’s gang knocked kishin egg after kishin egg down, red souls appearing everywhere. His breathing became short. Those red souls were just like- no, he couldn’t think about that. He shook himself, tracking Birdie down in the battlefield. She was fighting with that crossbow again, though it seemed she wasn’t doing so well. She rolled to a stop in a relatively quiet spot, the crossbow disappeared as she bent over, hands on her knees. Kid couldn’t bring himself to enter the battlefield. He couldn’t. Birdie began skating around, kicking back kishin eggs. She didn’t use the crossbow again. Then the red gang was gone, what was left had disappeared into the shadows.  
“Your round, Birdie!” a guy shouted to the rollerblader. “You get half of the souls and everyone else splits the other half.”  
And thus Kid learned Birdie was in fact a weapon as she, one by one, ate at least twenty kishin egg souls.  
Which added another question to his list.  
Why was she able to form a transparent, complete version of her weapon form while she was still human? No weapon was able to do that. They could pull part of their weapon form from their body, like Soul when he turns his arm into a blade, but they couldn’t have their weapon in their hands. It just wasn’t possible.   
Kid felt a migraine growing as he rolled back to Gallows Manor.

Death the Kid stayed up late that night as he laid perfectly symmetrical in his bed, his thoughts on Birdie’s abilities. It made no sense to him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get a plausible reasoning.  
He decided he’d ask Professor Stein in the morning. If he didn’t have an answer, then Kid would camp out in the library searching for answers.  
He wouldn’t leave this puzzle unsolved. It’s just not how he functioned.

Everyone’s jaws gaped. Had Death the Kid just spoken without first being spoken to in the first time for five months?  
No one in the hallway could believe it.  
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Professor Stein asked, slightly incredulous.  
“I asked how a weapon is capable of making a ghost version of themselves in weapon form in their own hands,” Kid repeated, tapping his foot in a sign of impatience.  
“No, that’s not possible. No weapon is capable of that, not even a Death Scythe,” Professor Stein said affirmatively.  
“Alright, thank you, Professor.”  
And with that Kid walked away. Everyone stared after him long after he was around the corner.  
Three hours later, Soul and Maka found Kid in the library, nose buried in book, surrounded by stacks of books.  
“Hey, Kid, tonight is session night, if you’re up for it,” Maka said hopefully.  
Kid blinked, looking up as if just realizing they were there- which was a feat considering on the walk into the library the duo had been bickering about who had burned supper last night.  
“At eight?” Kid said, still not caught up with reality after reading for so long.  
Maka nodded, “Yeah.”  
“Of course, see you then,” Kid nodded and looked back down at the book, fully absorbing himself in it.  
Maka blinked, Soul raised an eyebrow. The partners exchanged glances before smiling and leaving Kid to his reading.  
It was clear to them that Kid had a new puzzle to solve. As long as this puzzle lasted, they knew Kid would be at least a little better. He always directed all of his attention to the puzzle at hand. For now, he’d be okay.  
A part of them hoped he wouldn’t solve the puzzle for a long time.

“So, Kid, what’s this thing that has you out and about all the sudden?”  
The question came from Blackstar, to no one’s surprise. Everyone still glared at him.  
Kid raised an eyebrow, “I don’t believe it’s any of your business, Blackstar.” A ghost smile appeared on his lips as he thought of Birdie’s other “name,” None of Your Business.  
Everyone stared.  
“I will admit, we’ve all been curious, you seem more like yourself lately… you don’t have to tell us of course!” Tsubaki said, smiling.  
“Thank you, Tsubaki. But I do believe I’ll have to keep this mystery to myself for a while longer,” Kid nodded, crossing his legs.  
Everyone knew that was his sign that he was done talking. So they took turns talking. They listened to Soul as he told them about the nightmare he had had last night- how it was a huge war with fully-fledged kishins. Blackstar grinned and told everyone that if that ever happened, he’d protect them all and surpass God.  
The night session ended with Crona falling asleep against Maka’s shoulder. Soul and Maka had to practically carry Crona back to their room before returning to their own apartment.  
Kid laid back in his bed, wondering if Birdie had searched for him around the city today. He hadn’t gone for a walk after all. He was too busy trying to figure her out.

“Get a cold yesterday?”  
Kid looked up to see Birdie in a tree, legs swinging. “No, I had some research to do.”  
“Oh? About what?” Birdie asked.  
“You,” Kid stated.  
“Me?” Birdie dropped down from the tree branch, landing in front of him, “Why?”  
“Because you’re a weapon and yet you can still summon yourself in weapon form, somehow. How is that possible?” Kid frowned.  
“Oh, that.” Birdie sighed, “I’m afraid I can’t explain that to you. Not yet.”  
“But you will tell me?” Kid asked.  
Silver eyes studied him for a long moment, “I’d say there is a 94% chance that I’ll tell you.”  
“Great,” Kid groaned.  
Birdie cackled, “You’re just going to have to wait, because I don’t think there are any books on me.”  
“Yes, I checked. There was no book titled ‘Mystery of Birdie.’” Kid stated.  
The girl grinned, “I should remedy that.”  
“Can you answer a different question then?”  
“Depends what it is, reaper boy,” Birdie said, turning her full attention to Kid.  
“Why and how are you in a gang? Why is there a gang of kishin eggs in this city?” Kid blurted.  
“Okay, that was like three questions. We are strictly in a one question-one answer relationship right now so choose one,” Birdie said, crossing her arms.  
“…alright, why is there a gang of kishin eggs in this city?” Kid asked after thinking for a moment.  
“They began appearing about nine months ago, growing in number. We don’t actually know why they appeared, but they’ve been trying to feast on human souls every night. The reason the academy hasn’t noticed is because of my gang, the Paper Cranes,” Birdie nodded, “Well, that’s all the story telling for today. Bye, TK!”  
And thus she rolled away.  
“TK?”

Kid found her in the same tree the next day.  
“Question today?” Birdie asked.  
“How did the Paper Cranes form?” Kid said, having thought all day prior to this about which question he would ask.  
“Ooh, good one. Broad enough that I give more answers than I planned. Sneaky sneaky, reaper,” Birdie laughed. “Alright. Before the Paper Cranes formed I was hanging out with Devor- tall, muscly man with ninety and a half tattoos. He became my father figure, you could say. We started the Paper Cranes after running into a group of the kishin eggs who were about to kill two little kids. We beat them, I ate some tasty red souls, and we began recruiting anyone with a will and ability to fight. Devor became gang leader and I’m his second in command.  
“And there you have it. Question of the day answered.”  
“Yes, that clears a couple things up. I will return tomorrow,” Kid nodded, mulling over the new information.  
Birdie saluted him as he walked back to the DWMA. She let her hand fall to her lap as she watched the reaper go. He was such a troubled boy, she had yet to see him fully smile. Maybe if she answered two questions she’d get a smile out of him.  
Maybe.

Birdie was a couple blocks away from the usual tree, flipping pennies into a fountain when Kid finally tracked her down. She was different today though. She didn’t say a word as he walked up. He looked over at her and was shocked to see tear stains on her cheeks, “Birdie, are you-“  
“I’m fine,” Birdie interrupted, shooting him a glare that clearly said ‘drop it.’ “What’s today’s question?”  
“What’s wrong?”  
Those two words hung in the air for a long time.  
Kid was starting to regret them when Birdie completely broke down, hiding her face with her hands as her shoulders shook with sobs.  
“Birdie?” Kid worried, reaching out to gently touch her shoulder.  
“We lost three people last night. A meister and weapon duo, plus a normal soldier,” Birdie shook. “Eight more are injured. They’re getting stronger and I don’t understand how. We haven’t allowed them to eat a single human soul.”  
Birdie lifted her head to look blankly at the sky, “I was given this ability to protect those I care about, right? So why have I failed to?”  
She looked across at Kid, hoping for an answer. Kid didn’t have one, for he had the exact same question. “I don’t know, Birdie. I ask myself the exact same thing every day.”  
They stared at the fountain, spraying water from a fish’s into the pool below that glimmered with coins.  
“Here, for good luck. I hear the academy exams are coming up,” Birdie said quietly, holding out her hand.  
Kid looked down to see a shiny penny, gently picking it up, “Thank you.”  
She offered a smile, “I might not be available tomorrow, by the way. Lots of stuff to do, if I am I’ll be where all the blue jays go.” And then she rolled away.  
Kid was left wondering where exactly she meant.

“Hey, Maka?”  
“Ah! Yes, Kid?” Maka swung her attention from gently smacking Soul to Kid. They had all just finished the first three classes of the day and were currently on break.  
“Do you know where the blue jays gather during this season?” Kid asked.  
Soul and Maka stared at the grim reaper, getting more confused by Kid and his recent antics with each day that passed.  
“Well, usually the elderly sisters are out feeding the birds during the spring, and they always throw seeds in Hollow Park,” Maka informed.  
Maka knew many things about the city because when she was younger her and her mother would always go for walks and learn everything there was about the people and places in the city. Whenever someone had a question about the city, they went to Maka because 9 times of 10 she knew exactly what they were looking for.  
“Thank you, Maka,” Kid nodded to his fellow meister before spinning on a dime and walking down the hallway.  
“He gets more confusing by the day,” Soul sighed, running a hand through his white hair.  
“Yeah, why is he concerned about what the blue jays are doing?” Maka wondered.  
“Who knows?” Soul asked, shrugging dramatically.

Kid walked into Hollow Park, an adequately named park as all the trees were hollow. One of nature’s many mysteries. He looked around for a signature blue beanie. He didn’t find it. He sighed and decided to sit down on a bench. When he looked up he saw two happy old ladies throw bird seed to blue jays that fluttered about the ground. He tilted his head, watching them.  
One lifted her head and smiled at him, “You, well-dressed young man, come here would you?”  
Kid blinked and slowly walked up, “Yes, ma’am?”  
“Oh ho, Reva, this young man is so polite. Please call me Arev,” the lady smiled.  
The sisters both had gray hair tied back in matching buns, their eyes sparkling blue. Arev wore a classic blue old lady dress while Reva wore a different classic, purple old lady dress. They had a large basket in between them filled with bird seed.  
“You’re a young meister, aren’t you?” Reva smiled.  
“Yes, my name is Death the Kid,” Kid stated.  
“Oh! Lord Death’s boy, of course, how is that grim reaper doing? We haven’t seen him in years!” Arev chuckled.  
“He’s doing well, you know him?” Kid asked.  
“We used to be meisters, y’know,” Arev said. “We had different weapon partners. They’ve both passed on now.”  
Kid’s brows furrowed as he lowered his head, “Yes, I know what it feels like to live longer than your weapon…” He bit his lip.  
“Oh, do you want to talk about it?” Reva asked.  
“No… I can’t. Not yet,” Kid frowned.  
“We understand, dearie. Maybe you could tell that Birdie about it. She’s mentioned you, dear. Says she’s never met someone so determined to get answers he doesn’t actually need before,” Arev smiled.  
“Yes, she’s a very good listener and knows loss herself. She’d understand,” Reva added.  
“No, I don’t need to burden people with my problems,” Kid said firmly.  
The sisters tilted their heads at him, looking at him for a long moment.  
“Come here, dear. We need to show you something,” Reva stated as her and Arev stood up, motioning for the reaper to follow them.  
Raising an eyebrow, Kid obliged.

They had been walking deeper into the park- the heavily forested part of it when the sisters finally stopped.  
Kid looked up at the biggest tree he had ever seen, its branches encompassed half the canopy of this area, twining with other branches. Several trees grew right next to this giant one, almost holding it up.  
“This tree is the oldest tree known to date. It’s said that it protects this forest,” Arev said.  
“Yet look at it closely, without the trees around it, it wouldn’t be able to stand,” Reva nodded. “Don’t you see, Death the Kid, you’re a powerful grim reaper. You’ve made it your mission to protect everyone, yet you’re trying to do it alone. You can’t. You need help from friends- from those you trust most. Otherwise you will crash to the ground, and everyone might fall with you.”  
“Our soul perception has had 70 years to develop, young reaper, and we can see that your soul has cracked. It’s damaged from the loss of your weapons. It can’t handle much more pressure. The only thing keeping it together is the fact that you feel such responsibility to keep yourself together so you don’t worry others,” Arev told him, looking straight into his gold eyes. “Seek help, Death the Kid, and you’ll be back on your feet, able to protect those you care for. But only if you let those you care for, care for you.”  
“Be strong like this forest,” Reva smiled, “And you’ll find more strength in yourself and your friends than you ever thought possible.”  
“I…” Kid quickly rubbed the tears away from his eyes, letting his head bow in respect. “Thank you, Miss Arev and Miss Reva.”  
“Such a respectful, mannered boy,” the said in union, patting him on each shoulder.  
He would never forget what they told him.  
Birdie smiled from the tree branch she sat in as Kid walked back with the Crown sisters. She made sure every new friend she made met them. The Crown sisters had such a strong perception of souls that that could even tell a girl when her next menstruation cycle would start. The retired meisters were always able to help anyone she sent their way. If she had her way she would get them to be counsellors at the academy.  
Yet they were content with their basket and their blue jays.  
Birdie just couldn’t understand old people.  
But who could? Other than the old people, of course.  
Birdie hopped down from her branch, gliding out of the park. She’d answer two of Kid’s questions tomorrow.

“Busy yesterday, I see,” Kid stated as he walked up.  
“Oh yeah, lots of errands,” Birdie grinned.  
Kid noticed a new cut across her cheek, probably from another fight with the kishin gang.  
“So I’ve decided to answer two of your questions today, what are they?” Birdie smiled.  
Kid blinked, then nodded, “Alright, my first question, how is the war with the kishin eggs going?”  
Birdie let out an angry groan, stomping her foot, giving Kid quite the fright, “There’s no end to them. We’re making no headway.”  
“I could call in the academy-“  
“No, this is something the Paper Cranes will handle.” Birdie said, no room for argument.  
“If you’re sure,” Kid murmured. “Alright, second question-“  
And then an explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet.


	4. Chapter 4

Birdie snapped into action immediately, skating down the streets and weaving between people, who were looking around in confusion, expertly. Kid took a longer moment to get moving but was soon following Birdie in her weaving path through the streets to the explosion.  
Kid and Birdie skidded to a stop to see the full force of the kishin egg gang standing in the street in front of a tumbling building. Birdie began shaking with rage as she saw twenty of the Paper Cranes on the ground, injured or dead.  
“You bastards,” Birdie growled and whipped her hand up to have the crossbow appear. Her face instantly became strained as she started firing.  
“Are you okay?” Kid asked but Birdie didn’t hear him as she dove into the fray.  
Kid stood there, watching Birdie take on the equivalent of an entire army by herself.  
There had been few times he felt this useless. This time was one.  
The young reaper watched as Birdie fought an impossible battle against too many foes. She was outnumbered 1 to 50. She kicked and shot even though the strain on her face only got worse. She’d take a punch to the face and roll backwards, wincing. She never fell down though. She could change the angle of her rollerblades just right in order to always balance herself out. But she was fading, using that crossbow exhausted her more than anything. It put too much strain on her soul.  
Meanwhile, Death the Kid was having his own battle inside his mind. His body and mind were telling him to leap in and help Birdie, but his soul held him immobile. How could he fight again after what happened to his partners? He couldn’t. He couldn’t fight. It was too much after the emotional wounds he had taken against Daruka. His fists clenched. Why was he so weak? Maybe he really was just asymmetrical trash. He couldn’t do anything even though his friend was hurt. Friend? Yes, he had come to consider Birdie, who he barely knew, to be his friend. He saw Liz and Patty in her sometimes, in her loud laughs and the way she rolled her eyes. She was her own person, but she had traits of the Thompson sisters- which was what drew Kid to her in the first place. Yet the more and more time he spent walking with her only made him enjoy her as her own person as well.  
And here he was. Unable to help his friend fight a losing battle.  
A significantly nasty blow sent Birdie rolling back so hard and fast that her back slammed into a building, the silver crossbow disappearing from her hands. She looked up and locked eyes with Kid, “You’re a meister, right? Use me as your weapon.”  
“I can’t,” Kid choked out, looking away from her gaze.  
Birdie growled and bit the inside of her cheek, pushing herself off the wall and rolling right up to the grim reaper, kicking several kishin eggs away as she did. She clasped his shoulders hard enough that he looked back to her face, locking gazes once more, “Why?”  
Kid couldn’t bring himself to tell her his true reason, so instead he told her, “Because I can only wield dual weapons. I must be balanced on the left and right when I fight.”  
“Well if that’s the problem, it’s an easy solution,” Birdie grinned, beginning to glow silver.  
Before Kid could tell her to stop, a shining silver light jumped into the air, split into two, and began falling. Kid, not one to let someone clatter to the ground, held out his hands to let a small crossbow fall into each hand.   
It felt weird to hold weapons after so long.  
“See? I can become two weapons so it’s not a problem, really,” Birdie said, her portrait from the shoulders up appearing in the metal of the right crossbow.  
“But how?” Kid stared.  
“I’ll explain it if you kick these bastards’ asses,” Birdie stated, crossing her arms before her image disappeared.  
“I can’t-“  
The grim reaper wasn’t able to finish his sentence as he was sent flying backwards by a blast from a kishin egg’s mouth.  
He rolled before landing in a crouch across the street, the crossbows still clasped tightly.  
“Death the Kid, I swear on your father if you don’t start fighting I will never let you know the answers to your questions. And furthermore if you don’t fight, you’re going to die!” Birdie yelled from his right hand.  
His mind was going into overdrive. He couldn’t understand anything that was going on. His body was itching to fight, his mind was trying to figure out how Birdie could become two separate weapons, and his soul… His soul wanted to let go.  
“Maybe I deserve to let them kill me,” Kid said. “Then maybe I could finally atone for letting them die.”  
“Did they die protecting you?”  
“What?” Kid asked, startled by the question as the group of kishin eggs started moving towards him.  
“Your weapon partners, did they die protecting you?” Birdie clarified.  
“I never said-“  
“It’s obvious that’s what happened if you’re refusing to fight as a meister, TK,” Birdie interrupted. “Now answer my question.”  
“…They did,” Kid lowered his head.  
“Then don’t you think that they would want you to keep fighting, if they threw down their lives to make sure you kept living?” Birdie asked.  
Kid’s mind went blank.  
How in all these months had he never thought of it like that? He had been destroying himself over the fact that he should’ve been the one to die rather than the Thompson sisters. He stopped eating hoping that his body would give out, but he was caught in the act before it could happen. He would not pay attention at certain times hoping that something would kill him in a horrible accident.  
But what Birdie said… had he really been trying to throw away the gift Liz and Patty gave him? The gift to live longer and continue fighting for what he believed in? He had been trying to throw it away.  
“You can’t avenge them if you’re dead, TK,” Birdie said, interrupting his thoughts.  
And with that, Death the Kid snapped.  
His eyes blazed with a fire that had simmered out six months ago, his soul began strengthening, his wavelength sending out a physical current that sent the looming kishin eggs stumbling back. He stood, lifting the crossbows in his hands. He took a moment to appreciate how symmetrical the crossbows were. The crossbows were identical silver. They had a circle in the center with crescents taken out on each side, metal flowed out from the circle in a curve, the thick piece of metal curved slightly down then slightly back up on each side with a black outline accenting it. Another identical metal curve existed right underneath the first one, making it so the crossbows could shoot two bolts at once. Underneath the circle, the handle swooped down before rising back up to be even with its starting point where it flattened out before curving back down to make a place for his hands to hold. The end of the bolts were attached to the beginning of the flat part. The upper bolt was attached to a slightly raised piece on the flat part of the handle. The handle was silver with even more black accents. Just where his hand ended, there was a large navy blue gem at the end of the handle. Spirals and curves were etched a few centimeters above this that stretched down across the handle. The crossbows were very beautiful weapons, indeed.  
Shooting once, he discovered it was as easy as using pistols. All he had to do was press the trigger and bolts of his soul wavelength would go shooting into the collection of kishin eggs. It usually only took one hit to knock them down. Death the Kid flung himself into battle, while a little rusty and not as spectacular in his moves, the grim reaper was still quite the sight as he fought. He would leap into the air, firing off no less than 20 bolts before he had to land again. He had yet to take a single hit since he started fighting.  
Meanwhile, Birdie was in absolute awe. So this is what a grim reaper could do, even using a brand new weapon that he’d never once used before. She could feel his soul wavelength wafting over her. It was like a barely controlled hurricane of strength and emotion. Pure power. But behind all of it, she could feel his soul. It felt a little damaged, but the care and loyalty that came from it might’ve even been stronger than his wavelength.  
The weapon smiled, she knew she had seen something in this kid the first time she saw him. Hidden potential, so to speak. She realized now that it hadn’t been hidden potential, but instead potential that had been shut down due to grief. But now Death the Kid had redirected his grief into pure drive. Drive to fight all that was wrong in this world.  
It took ten minutes for the fight to be over. Red souls floated every which way, fifty-five in count. With a flash of silver, Birdie landed next to Kid, letting out a long whistle, “Damn, reaper boy. Not too shabby.”  
Kid wasn’t paying attention, instead he was looking at the remains of the battlefield, all the red souls. How tired his body was, how he had an ache in his soul. His breathe became short as sweat beaded on his forehead. His pulse increased and he gripped at his chest, it felt tight. It felt as if someone was squeezing his lungs and heart together. It was hard to breathe.  
“Whoa, hey, TK, what’s wrong?” Birdie said, appearing in Kid’s vision, her brow furrowed in worry.  
He shook his head, tears beginning to well in his eyes as memories rushed back to him. He began mumbling apologies, apologies for every time he had ever failed, for letting his friends die, for being asymmetrical. Everything.  
Birdie gently pulled him to a more secluded area behind a couple of trees and pulled him into a hug, arms wrapped tightly around him, “You’re forgiven, TK. It’s going to be alright. Everything is going to be okay. You’ve done nothing you need to be sorry for.”  
“I let them die,” Kid choked out.  
“That wasn’t your fault,” Birdie murmured, pulling away to lock gazes with him. Her silver eyes were determined and caring while his gold ones were hurt and scared.   
She gently pulled him to a bench and made him sit down. She sat down next to him and clasped his slightly cool hands in her own, “The fault belongs to what it was you were fighting. The creature that killed them. You didn’t let them die. Fate had pulled things out of your favor. It’s what fate does. They’re in a better place now, TK.”  
Kid let the tears come. Tears he had held in for six months. He let it all out, telling her the story of the mission, about Daruka, the death of Liz and Patty. He told her about all the negative things he had done to himself trying to atone for what he had caused. He cried for their deaths, he cried for the way he had been worrying his father and friends. He cried for the past six months, everything he hadn’t let out.  
Birdie listened silently, holding his hands, rubbing soothing circles into the back of his hand with her thumb. She didn’t interrupt him once, letting him empty his emotions that he had been bottling up. She began tearing up herself as he told her everything. She couldn’t believe what he had gone through. All the pain that he’s suffered… she felt herself getting angry that the world had hurt her friend so.  
An hour later, Kid’s breathing started to slow and even out. His eyes dried as he stared at the ground. He pulled his hands from Birdie’s and rubbed at his eyes, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean to drop all of this on you-“  
“Hey, don’t be sorry. I’m glad you told me. You needed to get that out. You were about to implode from all the pressure you’ve been bottling up,” Birdie said, offering a small smile.  
Kid offered a smile back. Birdie’s smile broadened. That was the first time she had ever seen him smile.  
“I believe you promised me answers if I kicked their asses. Their asses have been kicked,” Kid informed, raising an eyebrow at Birdie.  
She grinned, “Yes, you did.” Her face sobered, “I’ll tell you everything tomorrow, I’ll be in Hollow Park. But right now I need to take care of the Paper Cranes.”  
Kid nodded in understanding. They both stood from their spots and Kid dusted off imaginary dust while Birdie lifted her arms above her head in a long stretch.  
“Well! See you later!” Birdie began to wheel off but Kid grasped her shoulder firmly.  
She raised an eyebrow at him, “TK?”  
“Thank you, Birdie,” Kid said, gold eyes stronger than they had been in a long time.  
Birdie smiled and nodded. Kid let go of her shoulder and she rolled off.  
Taking a deep breath, Kid composed himself and went to where the battle had been. The red souls were gone so he assumed the Paper Cranes had taken care of it. He nodded to himself and began the trek back to Gallows Manor. When he got there, he sat down on his couch and stared at his coffee table.  
He stayed like that for an hour, replaying recent events.  
He nodded to himself as he made his decision. Pleased with the thought, he rose and changed into pajamas before collapsing into bed for a well-needed rest.  
It was the most restful sleep he had experienced in the last six months.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Kid was antsy for school to be over. Yet it never seemed to end. During the last class of the day, Soul and Maka found him with his head on the table, grumbling about something.  
“Hey, Kid, you okay?” Soul asked, raising an eyebrow.  
Kid turned his head without lifting it to look at them, “Ah, hello, Soul. Hello, Maka. If you’re here that means class will be starting directly.”  
“What’s that mean?” Maka frowned.  
“It means that you two always get here just before the bell,” Kid sighed, turning his head back so he was staring at the table.  
Soul and Maka stared at him in confusion. When the bell did ring seconds later, they took their respective seats next to Kid. The grim reaper didn’t pay attention the entire class period, instead too focused on how the conversation with Birdie would go today and about the answers he was finally going to get. His foot tapped against the ground, in sync with the clock as the seconds passed. The moment the bell rang, he was out the door. It was as if he had left a dust trail in his wake.  
“Well, he certainly had places to be,” Professor Stein noted.

Kid walked into Hollow Park with a purpose, there was certainly no doubt about that. He strode into the center of the park where a girl with a navy blue beanie and black rollerblades sat in the grass, legs crossed.  
“Hi, TK,” she grinned.  
“Y’know, most people just call me Kid,” he said as he sat down across from her in the same position.  
“I call you TK,” Birdie said firmly with a grin.  
Kid just shook his head, “Anyway, you promised me answers.”  
Birdie nodded, “Yes, I did. You can see and sense souls, yes?”  
“Of course, I am a grim reaper, after all,” Kid answered.  
“Alright, take a close look at my soul and tell me what you see.”  
Kid raised an eyebrow and looked down to her chest, where her soul sat between her breasts. He focused in on it. It was a strong soul, a bit battered and slightly worse for the wear, but strong and sturdy nonetheless. It glowed brightly, full of life energy. There was something just behind and to the left of it…  
Kid’s eyes widened, “You have two souls!?”  
Birdie nodded, “In a way, yes. The second soul to the left you see is not actually my soul, it is someone else’s soul.”  
“Who’s?”  
“My twin brother who was stillborn,” Birdie answered. “Somehow, his soul ended up in my body when we were born. I’ve dubbed my condition as Twin Soul. That’s the reason I was able to form myself in weapon form in my own hands. Though it puts a lot of strain on me because it’s essentially trying to pull my second soul out and plop it into my hand. It doesn’t work very well. It’s also the reason I can turn into two weapons, the one that was in your left hand is essentially an exact reflection of me. It’s my brother’s soul that turns into that crossbow. I don’t understand much of it myself, but that’s how it is.”  
“That’s… amazing,” Kid said, a look of awe on his face.  
Birdie shrugged, “Is just how it is.”  
They sat in silence for several minutes as Kid mulled over this new information and Birdie slipped into the past.  
“A slight change of topic, but why were you with Devor in the first place? And how are the Paper Cranes?” Kid asked, breaking the silence and pulling Birdie out of her reverie.  
Birdie sighed, face falling, “I met Devor in an alley. I had run from home and hadn’t thought out the best plan. I ended up starving in a box there. I ran because I was angry with my mother for keeping the fact that I had had a brother from me. I only found out because I found an old chest that had ultrasound pictures in it. Devor felt sorry for me and took me in. As for the Paper Cranes… we disbanded. We lost too many members to stay an actual group and we really had no point in staying together since you obliterated the entire kishin egg gang in a matter of ten minutes. So everyone returned to their homes to live out a life of peace. Those that didn’t originally have a home got adopted by others.”  
“And you?”  
Birdie bit her lip, “Devor was one of the ones killed yesterday… I don’t really know what I’m doing as of now.”  
Here was his chance.  
“Birdie I want you to become my weapon partner.”  
Well, that certainly wasn’t how he wanted to say it. He had been practicing all day the best way to ask that and he ended up saying it the worst way possible. He grimaced and looked at Birdie. She was staring at him, mouth slightly open. She closed her mouth, opened it again, and then closed it again. She settled for just staring at him, silent.  
“I mean we’re obviously compatible and we seemed to work really well together yesterday. And you can stay in Gallows Manor with me. And you could enroll in the academy if you wanted and we can help keep the world in balance and-“  
“You’re rambling, TK,” Birdie said calmly.  
Kid blinked, looking at her.  
She took a deep breath and looked him square in the eye, offering a small smile, “I need a day or two to think about this, okay? I’ll find you when I have my answer.”  
It wasn’t a no, so it was better than some of the scenarios that had wormed into his head, “Yes, okay.”  
She nodded and stood, rolling away after showing him a quick peace sign.  
Kid heaved a sigh before he stood. When he looked over, he saw Reva and Arev both giving him a thumbs up. For reasons unknown to him, his face began to heat up. He spun on a dime and headed home, waving a quick goodbye to the elderly sisters.  
Oh, how they laughed at the ways of teenagers.

Kid was starting to panic.  
It had been three days since he had asked Birdie to become his weapon partner and he hadn’t seen or heard from her. Did she hate him for asking her such a thing? Would he never see her again? The one who had managed to get him back on his feet quite effectively?  
He hadn’t even learned what her last name was.   
His forehead collided with the lunch table.  
His friends jumped in their seats, “Kid??”

He was dragging his feet by the time school ended that day, exams were two days away. He was hoping his prior knowledge of all the subjects would be enough, he hadn’t exactly been an amazing student the past six months. He could barely remember any lessons. Kid heaved a sigh as he walked up the steps of Gallows Manor, staring down at his feet.  
“Dude, you have got to work on the security in this place. It was all too easy to jump the fence,” a familiar voice said.  
Kid’s head whipped up to look at Birdie, who was nonchalantly leaning against the doors of his home, bag slung over her shoulder. She grinned, “Sorry for the late answer, but it’s a yes.”  
Kid actually sagged in relief, dropping to his knees, “Oh thank goodness.”  
Birdie’s laugh echoed through the streets.

“Okay, but why?”  
“Because my father deserves to know that I have a new weapon partner and if you don’t just come with me now he’s going to barge in and ruin the perfect balance I’ve created here,” Kid explained, frowning at Birdie, who was frowning right back.  
“…okay, but why?”  
“Because that’s what my father does, he barges,” Kid sighed.  
Birdie groaned, stomping her foot childishly. She had taken off her rollerblades at the door, leaving her in feet clad only in fuzzy blue socks. Kid was surprised how short she actually was. Her head ended where his chin began, when she had her rollerblades on, she was only a half inch shorter than him. He found himself rather smug about it for some reason.  
“Fine, but if he calls me a weird nickname, I am out,” Birdie decided, pouting.  
Kid rolled his eyes, “Fine. Let’s go.”

Birdie groaned for the fifth time in the last three minutes, “How many steps are there?”  
“A lot,” Kid answered, sighing for the fifth time in the last three minutes.  
Birdie frowned, trudging up the steps after Kid. He wasn’t actually sure how she was managing to walk up the steps in rollerblades, “How can you even do that!?”  
She followed his gaze to her feet, “I’m magical.”  
“Clearly,” Kid said blankly, though a smile tugged at his lips.  
Students that stayed late at school, which included Maka and a begrudging Soul, stared as Death the Kid walked down the halls towards the Death Room with a strange girl rolling next to him. Was it even allowed to skate indoors? If it wasn’t, she clearly didn’t care. Everyone was too shocked to ask Kid who this newcomer was, they just stared with their jaws dropped as the duo moved past.  
Kid and Birdie reached the Death room doors and Kid pushed it open, revealing the long walkway with guillotines hanging above.  
“Lord Death, right,” Birdie said uneasily.  
Kid gave her a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry, he’s nothing like this walkway.”  
“I’ll hope to take your word on that,” Birdie mumbled.  
“Father! I have someone I want you to meet,” Kid called, walking up to the podium where Lord Death stood, looking at his mirror.  
The grim reaper turned to face his son, “Kiddo! How do you do? Who is this someone? A lovely lady?”  
Kid’s eyebrow twitched, “I’m going to ignore that last question. This is Birdie, after long consideration, I’ve chosen her to be my weapon partner.”  
Lord Death practically bubbled with joy as he turned his attention to the girl his son spoke of, “A lovely lady, indeed! Hello, Birdie!”  
“Uh, hi,” Birdie offered a rather terrified smile.  
“Oh, no need to be nervous! Any friend of Kid’s is a friend of mine!” Lord Death said, waving his large hands reassuringly.  
Birdie blinked, moving up to stand by Kid, slightly less terrified of the god of Death. How had son and father become so different?  
Birdie had been expecting Lord Death to be a more serious, severe version of Kid. Oh, how she had been wrong.  
“Kiddo, how have you been? Are you doing alright?” Lord Death asked, his silly voice serious.  
“I’m doing fine-“  
“He’s doing better. I’ve been working with him the past couple weeks,” Birdie interrupted, frowning at Kid for trying to brush his health off to his own father.  
Kid frowned back at her.  
“Thank you very much, Birdie. I can tell you’ll take good care of my son,” Lord Death said happily.  
Birdie bowed her head respectfully.  
The three talked for a while longer as Kid and Birdie filled Lord Death in on everything that had happened in the past week. Lord Death informed them that he had seen signs of the multitude of kishin eggs but hadn’t interfered because the Paper Cranes had had it under control. He also explained something that shocked both the teenagers.  
“You see, if kishin eggs are unable to consume human souls, they will turn against their own kind and cannibalize each other,” Lord Death said. “It’s a horrifying thing, but it’s how it goes.”  
Kid and Birdie stared at him, both pale.  
“Wow,” Birdie blinked.  
Kid nodded in agreement.  
“So Birdie, you do plan to enroll into the academy, yes?” Death asked, changing the subject for their sake.  
Birdie nodded, “I figured I could start the day after exams. I’ll help Kid study the next two days and get a feel for all the subject matter.”  
“Oh, smart! Yes, that is a good plan. I’ll let Stein know that he’ll have a new student soon,” Lord Death decided. “You two get home now, get some good rest.”  
And thus the God of Death turned around back to his mirror, dismissing the two teenagers.

Back at the manor, Kid opened one of the many doors of the second story, “This is your room, mine is a couple doors down, I’ll leave it open so you know which one.”  
Birdie gave him a thumbs up, tossing her bag onto the bed. She turned to look at Kid, “It’s not just for the symmetry, right?”  
Kid’s brows furrowed, “What?”  
“Why you decided to ask me to be your weapon partner, it wasn’t just because I can be two symmetrical weapons, right?” Birdie asked, voice scared.  
“Birdie, no. Of course not,” Kid walked up, hands clasping her shoulders. “That’s just a very helpful benefit. You’re my friend, and I could feel that our souls are strongly compatible. I didn’t ask just because you’re a perfectly balanced weapon.”  
Birdie smiled and nodded before shooing him from her room, closing the door behind him. Kid let out a long breath as he walked down to his room. Tossing on pajamas, he laid down in bed, staring at the ceiling. He feared closing his eyes, for often times when he did, he had nightmares.

Birdie jerked awake, flying up into a sitting position. Her head snapped towards where the scream had come from. Kid’s room, right? She yanked her cap further onto her head, she slept with it on, and trotted out of her room and down the hall to the open door. She gently pushed it open and said “light” before flipping the switch to the left of the door.  
The weapon saw Kid curled in his black-clad bed, fingers digging at his scalp as he bit his lip, holding back a scream. His eyes were in another place, maybe in the past, maybe in a different reality.  
Birdie rushed to the bed, practically leaping onto it, dropping to her knees right next to Kid, “TK! Hey, TK, it was just a nightmare.”  
She gently pried Kid’s fingers away from his scalp, holding his chilled hands tightly, “TK, I’m right here. This is reality.”  
Slowly, his grip tightened around her hands. Death the Kid blinked several times before looking up at Birdie, relief appearing in his eyes, “Birdie. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”  
“Want to talk about it?” Birdie asked. “We can go downstairs and listen to some music. I can make some killer hot chocolate.”  
Kid gave her a long look before he finally nodded, “Yes, that’d help.”  
Twenty minutes later, Kid and Birdie sat on the couch, about to take a drink of the fresh hot chocolate Birdie had made.  
Kid’s eyes widened as he took his first sip, “This is amazing!”  
“I know,” Birdie smiled smugly before sobering, “What was the nightmare?”  
Calm piano music played in the background as they drank from their mugs in silence. Birdie waited patiently, not speaking a word.  
“It was memories of the fight with Daruka… but you were there as well. You died with Liz and Patty,” Kid started shaking slightly.  
“I’m right here, TK. Alive and kicking,” to prove her point, Birdie whipped out her pale leg, kicking the air before returning to her crossed legs position.  
Kid nodded, drinking from his black mug. He stared at the coffee table for a long time before finally finding the will to say, “Birdie, I really appreciate that you- oh dear.”  
He had looked over to see Birdie fast asleep, her head resting on the back of the couch, mug empty in her hands. The reaper studied her form, she was wearing a loose blue tank top that was only a few centimeters from being too low and fuzzy black pajama shorts that were even shorter than her jean ones. Her beanie was slightly askew and her feet were covered with blue and black striped fuzzy socks. His eyes widened as he saw the tattoo across her neck, the one that had always been hidden before. In black letters it read ‘BROKEN’. He fought the urge to run his fingers over the ink etched into her neck. Why would she have such a tattoo?  
He shook his head, letting his head fall back against the back of the couch. He’d just close his eyes for a minute before waking Birdie up so they could sleep in their respective rooms.  
He ended up falling asleep too, right there on the couch.  
Softly, piano music played from the speakers along the wall, singing a sweet lullaby that protected both of them from the plague of nightmares.


	6. Chapter 6

“Please! It’s important that you let me do this!” Kid yelled, chasing Birdie around the manor.  
“Hell no! You get away from me, reaper boy!” Birdie yelled over her shoulder.  
“Just let me make you symmetrical!”  
“You get away from me with that sharpie, damn it!”  
Kid chased Birdie around the house, sharpie held out as he tried to copy the tattoos on her body to the other side as well to make her symmetrical. Birdie didn’t approve of this idea. The chase stopped only when Birdie threw one of her rollerblades at Kid, hitting him right in the chest. It sent him flat on his back.  
“I win!” Birdie cheered, stealing Kid’s sharpie from him as he tried to regain the breath that was pressed out of him by the wheeled missile.  
Kid groaned, pushing the wheeled shoe off of him and sitting up. Birdie smiled and held out a hand. Kid frowned at her yet let his weapon partner pull him up, “Was it really necessary to throw your shoe at me?”  
“Yes, yes it was.”  
Kid shook his head as he brushed himself off, calmly walking back into the living room, even though his eyebrow twitched once. Lounging at home studying, he wore a loose black t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants. Birdie wore a very over-sized blue t-shirt with black fuzzy shorts, not that they were visible since her shirt was so long. She had her signature beanie on plus a new pair of fuzzy socks.  
Kid was wondering where she had gotten so many pairs of fuzzy socks.  
“Okay!” Birdie said, collapsing onto the couch. “Back to studying!”  
Kid nodded and sat down next to her, opening one of the many books that sat on the coffee table. Birdie had made hot chocolate for the occasion. The warm liquid sat in mugs on opposite ends of the table. Kid had spent five minutes deciding exactly where they should sit. Birdie had just waited calmly.  
Hunched over books, Kid taught Birdie all there was to know about souls and about meisters and weapons. Birdie was a fast learner, she managed to keep up with Kid’s fast teaching. Soon, she was just as knowledgeable as him.  
She helped him study the next two days as he prepared for exams. Meanwhile, she was getting far too antsy to join the academy in full.

“So how’d they go?” Birdie sang as Kind trudged into the manor.  
Kid looked up to see the weapon sprawled across the couch, a book in her hands, “I didn’t take you for a horror fan.”  
“Surprise. So how’d the exams go?” Birdie asked.  
Kid shrugged. He didn’t want to admit that he had spent most of the time writing his name and hadn’t even been able to fill in all the questions. Birdie raised an eyebrow at him, “Fine, don’t tell me.” She went back to her book.  
Kid went upstairs to change out of his signature suit into more comfortable clothing. He stayed in his room for a while, resting in his bed to recover from the mental strain of today. When he came back downstairs twenty minutes later, Kid found Birdie standing at the door, arguing with someone.  
“Birdie, who is that?” Kid asked, walking up.  
“I don’t know!” Birdie threw her arms up, spinning on a dime and going upstairs.  
Kid walked up to see Soul and Maka staring back at him, the rest of his friends stood behind them, “I thought you weren’t going to arrive until eight? It’s only five o’clock.”  
“We thought we’d come and have a supper party to celebrate all of us making it through exams, but…” Maka trailed off.  
“Who on earth was that?” Soul asked.  
Kid sighed, running a hand through his hair, “That’s Birdie.”  
“Birdie?” Soul repeated.  
“Yes, come inside, then,” Kid said, opening the door wider so they could all walk in.  
Kid closed the door behind them and looked around deciding Birdie had yet to come back downstairs. “One moment, please.”  
The grim reaper walked up the stairs, leaving his friends in absolute confusion. Kid found Birdie in her room, tucking her black turtleneck sweater beneath her jean shorts.  
“Are you going to come downstairs?” Kid asked.  
“First, you shouldn’t barge into a girl’s room, and second, yes. I just have a certain tattoo I don’t want people I don’t know to see,” Birdie said, looking in a mirror to adjust her beanie.  
“The ‘broken’ one?” Kid asked.  
She glanced at him, eyes briefly the epitome of sadness, “Yeah, that one.”  
She motioned for him to lead the way downstairs.  
Everyone stared at this girl who had apparently moved into Kid’s house.  
“Okay, Kid, you have a lot of explaining to do,” Soul said.  
“Alright, everyone, this is my new weapon partner, Birdie,” Kid said simply as he and Birdie sat down on the couch.   
Birdie kicked her legs up onto the table, crossed at the ankles, “Sup?”  
“New weapon partner!?” everyone chorused.  
Birdie and Kid nodded.  
Everyone stared at them silently.  
“Well shit,” Soul said, a grin forming on his face. “We’ve been worrying about you all these weeks and debating if you were doing drugs or something. And it turns out you were hooking up with a chick.”  
And that’s how Soul got a rollerblade thrown at his face. Kid winced, knowing the pain.  
“Excuse you, Albino. He was not in fact ‘hooking up with a chick,’” Birdie grumbled crossing her arms.  
Soul groaned from the floor, “Right.”  
“How did you two meet?” Maka asked, holding back a laugh.  
“He nearly ran me over. Then he began stalking me,” Birdie shrugged.  
“For the last time I never stalked you. We just kept running into each other,” Kid frowned.  
“Right, reaper boy. Whatever you say,” Birdie shrugged.  
“So how strong are you, Birdie? Bet you’re pretty weak. You’re even scrawnier than Maka,” Blackstar laughed, earning death glares from the two girls.  
Birdie stood up and walked right up to Blackstar, and then casually kicked him in between the legs. Blackstar gaped, holding his crotch and jumping around, yelling ‘ow’ repeatedly. Kid sighed.  
“That was a low shot, lady,” Blackstar groaned.  
“I can punch you in the face if you preferred,” Birdie grinned.  
“Birdie, that’s enough,” Kid said, exasperated.  
She frowned at him before walking into the kitchen, supposedly to make more hot chocolate. Maka smiled gently, she could see that Kid and Birdie’s souls got along well. She hadn’t noticed the fact that Birdie had two souls, not yet at least.  
“I’m glad you found her, Kid,” Maka smiled. “She seems to have helped you a lot already.”  
Kid tried to fight the heat in his face to no avail, “She’s a good listener.”  
“Oi! Whoever in this group is the cooker get in here!” Birdie shouted from the kitchen.  
Tsubaki chuckled and stood up, “Guess that’s my leave.”  
Everyone still in the living room made small talk, Kid often being asked questions about Birdie. At one point, the weapon in question had peeked her head out of the kitchen asking if anyone didn’t like chocolate. Learning that all of them enjoyed it, she disappeared back in the kitchen.  
An hour later, Birdie and Tsubaki walked out, announcing supper was ready. Hot chocolate was the beverage available, with fried meat as the main course. Everyone practically moaned in joy when they first tasted everything. Crona seemed to enjoy the food the most, even more than Ragnorak and Blackstar. They decided from then on Birdie would always make hot chocolate for their weekly sessions. Birdie had just shrugged modestly, sipping from her mug.  
When everyone had had their fill, they settled on a floor in the circle. Birdie stayed seated on the couch, not sure if she was welcome in the therapy circle. Kid looked over at her and motioned to the spot next to him. Birdie’s brow furrowed as she walked over and sat down. Everyone gave her a welcome smile.  
Maka was the first to speak, asking how everyone felt they did on their exams. Everyone answered in turn, minus Kid and Birdie. The group kept taking turns talking until Soul’s gaze turned to Kid.  
“So how are you doing, Kid?” Soul asked.  
Everyone’s attention turned to the grim reaper as his shoulders slumped a little, “I guess I should’ve been expecting that question.” He looked down at his hands as he said, “I admit, the past months since my last mission have been very hard for me. But I have met three people, specifically, who have helped me realize what exactly I needed to realize. Birdie is one of them. The elderly sisters in Hollow Park are the other two. I’m not great, but I’m recovering.”  
Everyone accepted his answer in silence; no one spoke for several minutes.  
Finally, Tsubaki spoke, “So Kid, are you going to go on missions anymore? It’s completely understandable if not.”  
A pained expression appeared on Kid’s face as he stayed silent.  
Birdie glanced worriedly at him before looking to Tsubaki, “Neither of us are ready for that yet, but I’d say within the next two months we might manage one. Right, TK?”  
Kid simply nodded, glaring daggers at his hands.  
The session continued on late into the night, when the clock struck eleven, everyone started getting ready to leave so they could get a good night’s rest for school tomorrow. Birdie showed them out while Kid cleaned up the kitchen from supper.  
Birdie closed the door gently and walked up behind Kid, “Are you alright? You didn’t look so good towards the end of the session.”  
“Birdie, we’re going to train tomorrow after classes. We need to learn how to resonate souls,” Kid said, not answering his partner’s questions.  
“Hey, TK, we don’t need to rush this. There’s no need for us to-“  
“No, Birdie. Please. I need to,” he shot her a desperate look with golden eyes that seemed to melt into honey as the hour got later.  
“Okay, we will,” Birdie relented, still looking concerned.  
Kid heaved a breath, “Birdie, if I have a nightmare tonight, don’t bother yourself with coming to my-“  
“If you have a nightmare tonight I am going to break into your room to make sure you’re okay, TK. It’s just who I am,” Birdie interrupted, frowning at her new meister.  
Kid didn’t say anything, instead turning to do the dishes. Birdie’s lips turned down into a frown before she sighed, “Goodnight, TK.”  
“Goodnight, Birdie.”

Kid did have a nightmare that night, but he made sure not to be loud. Birdie didn’t wake up.

Birdie groaned as Kid turned on the light in her room. He had been gently trying to wake her for the past half hour with gentle taps on her door and telling her it was time to get ready for her first day. Eventually he had gotten irritated enough to commit the taboo among teenagers- turning on the light right away in the morning. Birdie groaned, burying her face under her blanket, which Kid promptly ripped off of her, “Get up!”  
He blinked at her rather disheveled form. Her beanie was half off her head, revealing more lilac hair, her shirt was riding up revealing several inches of smooth, pale skin. Her shorts, ridden up as they were, were probably only the length of her underwear at this point. She was also missing a sock. She glared daggers at him before pulling her beanie down over her eyes.  
“Birdie, if you don’t get up we’re going to be late for school,” Kid groaned, ignoring all the skin that she was showing.  
Birdie groaned back, pulling her beanie down further.  
Silence. Birdie frowned beneath her beanie. Why wasn’t Kid chastising her? And then there were arms looping underneath her arms, cold hands grabbing her shoulders. Why on earth was Kid’s skin always so cold? Was it because he was a god of death? That’d make sense. She screeched in surprise as Kid lifted her, quite literally dragging her out of bed. She struggled weakly as he dragged her down the stairs, plopping her down on the couch. Birdie lifted up her beanie from her eyes to glare at him. He just raised his brows at her before walking into the kitchen. He was already in his signature suit, hair combed to perfection.  
Grumbling, Birdie walked into the kitchen after him, opening the fridge and pulling out a bowl of watermelon she had wrapped in saran wrap. She grabbed a fork, pulled the clear wrap off, and scarfed down the fruit for breakfast with slightly pointed teeth, a trait that came from being a soul eater.  
“You are twenty levels of not a morning person, you know,” Kid smirked slightly.  
Birdie grinned without answering back. She dropped her bowl in the sink and hopped up the stairs to get dressed. While she was changing, Kid did a quick walk through of his manor, making sure everything was in order. Birdie was waiting by the door by the time Kid got done.  
“You’re really going to wear your rollerblades?” Kid asked.  
“Yes,” Birdie nodded.  
Kid shook his head and led the way out the door. Birdie skated ahead of her meister, letting the cool morning breeze caress her face. She smiled and turned around, slowly skating backwards just in front of Kid, watching as the breeze played with his hair.  
“So what’s our classes going to be like?” Birdie wondered.  
“You’ll be in Class Crescent Moon with me, of course,” Kid explained. “Our main teacher is Professor Stein, a highly advanced meister with an urge to dissect everything he sees. Other classes depend on which ones you enrolled in a couple days ago. I believe one of your classes as a weapon is with Miss Marie. She’s a skilled Death Scythe and is very kind. I believe you’ll like her. Oh, and be prepared for Sid the zombie, he’s a teacher as well.”  
Birdie raised an eyebrow, “Of course the academy has a zombie teacher. I’m not even surprised.”  
Kid just shrugged nonchalantly.

“Everyone, we have a new student, weapon of Death the Kid, Birdie,” Professor Stein announced as Kid and Birdie walked into the classroom.  
Birdie just formed the peace symbol with her index and middle finger in a form of greeting. Kid stood with an unreadable look. Everyone waved hello or said a quiet greeting as they took their seats. No one burst into the usual gossip of teenagers, they were all too shocked that Kid had finally found a compatible weapon partner after what had happened. Without further comment, Stein started class. He began dissecting a snake, rather gleefully. Birdie was thoroughly creeped out.  
After Stein’s class, Kid and Birdie went to their separate classes as meisters and weapons. Birdie met Miss Marie and instantly hit it off with her, connecting by their kind natures. Although, Birdie was more of a kind soul who acted like an asshole to people she didn’t know well.  
When she finished her final class of the day, Birdie took a long stretch, walking around trying to hunt down her meister. She found him fixing a statue of his father, making it symmetrical. Birdie shook her head gently, walking up to him, “You wanted to train?”  
Kid looked over at her, “Yes. Let’s go.”  
He gave the statue a once over before leading the way to the forest where students always came to train, finding a secluded clearing where they could train in peace.  
“Alright, Birdie. Transform,” Kid said firmly.  
With a flash of silver that split into two in the air, Birdie landed in Kid’s hands as two separate crossbows. Kid inhaled and exhaled deeply, letting his arms fall to his sides. How strange it felt to hold weapons after all this time, without adrenaline coursing through his veins.  
“We’re going to try resonating souls now, okay?” Kid breathed out.  
“Yeah, okay,” Birdie’s voice rose from his right hand.  
As they both concentrated, Birdie completely new to this, their souls slowly began to connect- their wavelengths pushing together. It was very rocky at first, the souls stumbled over each other, not used to the other. Kid had beads of sweat rolling down his forehead by the time their souls finally clicked, resonating shockingly strong.  
Birdie was blasted by the immense power of Kid’s soul while Kid felt both presences of Birdie- the two souls inside her. The second ghost soul didn’t really have its own personality, instead it felt like pure power, tethered to Birdie’s soul by an invisible rope.  
“Wow,” Birdie breathed.  
“Stronger. Resonate stronger,” Kid ordered, pushing his and her limits further.  
The air around them actually vibrated as the crossbows in the grim reaper’s hands began glowing. Birdie found herself scared and excited at the same time.  
With a flash of silver, the crossbows erupted into almost twice their original size, a thick bracelet wrapping around Kid’s wrists to keep them from falling. Four-tiered bow curves held large bolts of Kid’s wavelengths. Kid couldn’t help the smirk that appeared on his face, “Fire.”  
Eight bolts shot forward, exploding upon contact with anything. The blast left a crater in the ground, plus a few missing trees. Birdie leaped out of weapon form, jaw dropped. She whistled, “Wow.”  
“And thus the power of soul resonance,” Kid nodded, looking at his weapon.  
She grinned, sweat beaded on her forehead, “Can we go home now?”  
“Yes, you did very well, Birdie,” Kid complimented, making Birdie beam a large smile his way. Kid offered a small smile back.  
They rolled, Kid on his skateboard and Birdie in her rollerblades, back to Gallows manor, both intent on taking a long shower.


	7. Chapter 7

For the next month, every day after school, Kid and Birdie would train in their forest clearing. Sometimes, Maka and the others would sneak after them and watch their progress.  
The grim reaper and crossbow would run into problems, as any pair would. First, it was the fact that Birdie got overwhelmed by her meister’s soul and nearly passed out several times.  
They managed to solve this with Professor Stein’s help. He had them enter a room and sit down across from each other. The professor told them to tell the other their deepest secrets, and then left the room, locking the door from the inside behind him- so no one could intrude on them. Kid and Birdie had stared at each other for a long time, not understanding how this would solve their current problem.  
Little did they know that by enhancing their connection between their minds and their knowledge of each other, their souls became more used to each other and Birdie’s soul would be able to stand the grim reaper’s wavelength. That was also the day Kid realized something had occurred with Liz and Patty when he resonated with them. Since there was two of them, it was easier for their souls to hold even with his wavelength. But Birdie had the equivalent of one and a fourth soul. At this point, her second soul simply existed as a part of her. It didn’t do much.  
No one was to learn what they told each other in that room, but they grew much closer when they walked out to continue their training. Birdie’s soul was able to resonate with the grim reaper’s soul with not so much as an issue after that.  
The second problem they ran into was Kid’s tendency to have panic attack whenever fighting was involved. Three weeks after they had begun training, Blackstar challenged Kid to a sparring match to get him back in the game. Kid had accepted the challenge, Stein had come to supervise the battle.  
The fight had been going well with both Blackstar and Kid not taken many hits when suddenly Kid’s breath started to shorten, his chest felt like it was clenching. It became a struggle for him to breath. Birdie had instantly noticed and shot out of weapon form, scaring Blackstar half to death when he nearly hit her with his kusarigama. She had turned to Blackstar and all the spectators and ordered them to leave, her silver eyes leaving no room for argument. Tsubaki and Stein made sure everyone cleared out and no one stayed to eavesdrop.  
Birdie had hugged Kid close, his head resting against her shoulder as they sat in the grass. Kid fought to control his breathing, images of the fight with Daruka repeating over and over in his head. Birdie had ran her fingers through her meister’s hair, stating what was happening right then- random things, like how the back of her neck itched slightly, how cool to the touch his skin was, what the clouds looked like that day. It helped bring Kid back to the present.  
“I can’t do this,” he had said, not moving from her arms.  
“You can, TK,” Birdie comforted.  
“What if this happens on a real mission? You won’t exactly be able to order the kishin eggs away so we can sit down and let the attack pass,” Kid said, his voice dull as his gaze focused on the fuzz of her black sweater.  
Birdie stayed silent for a long moment before saying, “What if we began resonating the moment you began to have a panic attack? Wouldn’t that calm your soul down if my soul was resonating with it?”  
“It’s possible,” Kid had murmured, mulling the idea over.  
So they had asked Blackstar to challenge them again the next day. Never one to back down from a fight, the dark assassin happily obliged. The moment Kid began to panic midway through the fight, Birdie had reached out with her soul. Kid’s soul had followed her lead as she gently swept them into the stability of soul resonance. Her theory had been correct, his soul stopped wavering and he was able to finish the fight. It ended up finishing in a draw.  
Birdie had shifted out of weapon form and whooped, jumping in the air slightly at their success. Kid had just offered her a small smile as she beamed at him. Everyone smiled, glad to see that Kid was improving by the day.  
The last problem they ran into happened for five days, when Birdie woke with blood on her sheets Saturday morning.  
She had stormed down the steps, wearing an oversized sweatshirt and oversized sweatpants. When Kid saw her, he barely even recognized his weapon partner. Her face was haggard and her hat wasn’t on as neatly as usual, little pieces of her hair stuck out from underneath it. Kid watched as she stomped into the kitchen, grabbing an entire jug of apple juice and chugging it straight.  
“Um, Birdie. Are you alright?” Kid asked, concern laced in his voice.  
She shot him a glare before walking out the door, no shoes on, “I’m going to run to Maka’s quick.”  
Kid blinked as the girl stormed out of the manor. He had lived with Liz and Patty long enough to realize what had happened. His face paled considerably. He had a feeling Birdie on her period was going to be infinitely worse than anything he’d dealt with before.  
When Birdie returned, she had a chocolate muffin in hand, devouring it. In her other hand she had a bag which Kid presumed was full of feminine products.  
“Is there anything you want me to do to help?” Kid asked.  
Birdie blinked, looking at him in surprise before she remembered that he had lived with two girls for a long time. She paused before saying, “A heating pad would be nice.”  
Kid nodded and stood from the couch, meandering upstairs. Birdie groaned and collapsed across the couch, cramps attacking her lower abdomen with fervor. It felt like she was getting stabbed repeatedly by a machete. Kid came back down, holding out a circular disc that was soft to the touch and pleasantly warm. Oh, so warm. Birdie snatched it from his hands and placed it under her sweatshirt, promptly breathing a sigh of relief as the pain eased. Kid offered her a gentle smile, “Just let me know if there’s anything else you need.”  
Birdie blamed period hormones for how her face heated up.

The rest of the weekend revolved around Kid trying to make sure his weapon was as comfortable as possible as Mother Nature did her thing. He’d go buy her chocolate at the drop of a hat, and would gently rub her abdomen through her sweater, massaging the pained region. The weekend went well, all things considered.  
The school week, not so much.  
The first outburst of Birdie’s much shortened fuse occurred when Blackstar said the wrong thing at the wrong time. To be honest, Birdie didn’t even remember what it was afterwards, but she had punched him in the face so hard that he received a black eye. Kid had to drag the assassin away to explain what was going on. Tsubaki and Maka had just gently patted Birdie’s shoulders. The second time was aimed at Ox. He had been starting to get really cocky and it blew her fuse in less than a second. Kid managed to save Ox from any major pain by wrapping an arm around her at the ribs, careful to avoid her lower abdomen, “Down, girl.”  
She had glared daggers at him, then glared daggers at Ox, before dismissing herself to the bathroom.

Birdie wasn’t too enthused when Kid asked her to come with him for another training session, “Dude, I have blood pouring out between my legs and you want to train?”  
“I’ve sensed a change in your wavelength and it’d be best if we adjusted to it in case we have to fight while you’re menstruating,” Kid reasoned.  
Birdie wasn’t happy, but she changed into her weapon form nonetheless.  
The duo easily adjusted to Birdie’s slightly altered wavelength. Kid realized the only difference was that her wavelength was a lot more grumpy and angry with a very short fuse on her anger. After seeing this, it was easy to gain headway, returning right to where they had been on Friday.  
Tuesday didn’t go much better for Birdie. She punched Blackstar and Soul in the face because they started teasing her, threw a book (that she stole right out of Maka’s hands) at Stein when he tried to dissect an endangered species (which she got detention after school for), and sent Hiro out a window.  
Kid decided to skip training that day, instead dragging her home and giving her an hour massage to get her to calm down.  
Wednesday was a bit calmer, it was the last day of her period and she didn’t punch anyone else other than Blackstar. When school was over, Kid treated her to ice cream as a reward for not throwing a book at the teacher during class that day. She had enjoyed the dessert whole-heartedly.  
Thursday, Birdie was back to her usual self, hormones calmer and the fuse of her rage longer. She stumbled down the stairs, once again in her usual pajama shorts and oversized t-shirt.  
“Feeling better?” Kid asked.  
“So much better,” Birdie sighed, rubbing an ache out of her shoulder. “Thank you for dealing with that all so well.”  
Kid shrugged, “I’ve dealt with girls on their periods before, so it wasn’t much of a hassle. But I will say, I didn’t expect your fuse to be that short. Every day you saw Blackstar you ended up punching him.”  
Birdie rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment, “Yeah, I’ll have to apologize.”  
“No, at least two of those time he deserved that sucker punch you sent his way,” Kid nodded, a chuckle escaping his lips.  
Birdie grinned and nodded before heading into the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal.  
Everyone was relieved when Birdie was back to normal at school, especially Blackstar. His face wouldn’t stop hurting from her punches.


	8. Chapter 8

Saturday had come again, Birdie stretched in her bed, reaching her arms above her head as far as possible before sighing in content. There had been another therapy session last night, and she had told everyone about her stillborn twin brother. The weapon sat up and looked at her clock, its digital numbers read 12:00. Noon, perfect. She was surprised Kid hadn’t come to bug her to get up yet. She situated her beanie firmly onto her head and pushed herself out of bed, leaving her black blankets and sheets in utter disarray. Kid was usually grumpy with her about it and would often slip into her room to make her bed before leaving again. After the first couple times he did it, she just stopped caring.  
She walked to her full-body mirror, the frame white and silver with a little Death Skull at the top center. She had stolen one of Kilik’s hoodies a while back simply because it had a flock of birds patterned across the front. After the first week of trying to get it back, the meister had given up. Along with aforementioned sweatshirt, she wore a pair of black pajama shorts and fuzzy socks. Tucking a few stray strands of lilac hair back into the confines of navy blue knit-work, she left her room.  
She made her way down the pristine hallway, her feet tapping against the white tiles trimmed in black. Soft sunlight filtered out of Kid’s room. She gently pushed open the door and peaked in, about to say a greeting. Birdie blinked as she saw her meister lying in bed, a handheld mirror held up so he could study his face. His eyes narrowed with disdain and he chucked the mirror away from him. The mirror caught the sunlight that poured in through the two windows evenly placed along the back wall before it hit the wall and shattered. Tears were beading up at the edges of Kid’s eyes.  
“TK?’ Birdie asked gently, walking further into the room.  
His eyes went from the ceiling to her, “Birdie.”  
Birdie walked over to the shattered mirror, gently lifting a shard of glass from the lush grey carpet. She looked at it, then back to Kid.  
He avoided her gaze.  
Confused and worried, Birdie set the shard down and walked over to perch on the edge of Kid’s large bed, “What’s wrong, TK?”  
“Why would you want to be my weapon?” Kid’s hands curled into fists as they lie over his chest. “I’m really just garbage. Nothing special.”  
“TK, you are nothing like gar-“  
“Look at me, Birdie! I can’t even live up to my own ideals because of these stupid lines in my hair. I can’t fix anything. I can’t even live up to my father’s name,” Kid burst out, anger etched into his face.  
Birdie briefly worried that anger was at her before she realized it was aimed at himself.  
“TK, no. Those lines in your hair are the lines of sanzu, remember? It’s a trait of being a grim reaper, you told me that yourself. You’ve fixed the DWMA many times. Every time Blackstar breaks it, you fix it. You’re not garbage. Not at all,” Birdie comforted, reaching out a hand to gently touch his arm.  
She could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn’t believe her. Birdie’s lips twitched downwards as she flipped her legs up onto the bed, crossing them. Her hand moved down to his own, pulling it into her lap to hold. His fingers were always so cold. Birdie wrapped both hands around his one, and then sat there in silence, watching his chest rise and fall with his breathing. His loose, grey t-shirt allowed her to see more of his alabaster skin than usual. His collarbone stood prominently against his skin thanks to the shadows the light cast.  
Kid watched his weapon as she sat there, simply holding his hand. He appreciated this about her, Birdie always understood when words wouldn’t help. Instead, she would be there beside him, a stable lifeline to hold onto. He turned his head to stare up at the ceiling, his face void of emotion. Birdie recognized that look. He wore it often during school hours, even in front of his father. It was his marble mask that he hid behind. This mask was the reason he constantly seemed so cool and collected, until symmetry got involved, of course.  
Birdie lifted her head to study her meister’s room, it was kept perfectly symmetrical and neat.  
The left and right off-white walls were covered in bookshelves, books and other oddities aligned across them. The other side was exactly identical. She briefly wondered if he had two of everything to keep everything balanced. She noticed that he didn’t have any mirrors in his room, minus the one now shattered on the grey carpet. His bed sat right in the center of the room, lush black sheets covering the mattress. He had eight pillows, to no surprise. Two of them were in the shape of his father’s mask. The others were black. Birdie figured he spent ten minutes each morning arranging the pillows and bed to be perfect.  
The smell of his room was similar to his own smell, that of cinnamon shampoo and cologne with a certain spice to it. Fabric softener dulled that spice down into a more humble scent. Underneath it all though, was the very faint scent of death that clung to the grim reaper. One could only notice this scent if they spent a lot of time around him or just sat in his room for half an hour. Birdie thought it smelled like almonds, bitter herbs, and wax candles.  
Kid hated the smell. It was the smell that he couldn’t wash from his body even if he scrubbed at his skin for twenty minutes until it was raw and red. Thus he wore the strong scents of cinnamon and spice to hide the scent of death that clung to his body.  
Birdie, in contrast, didn’t mind the hidden smell that clung to her meister. Whenever she caught a whiff of it, she would imagine the most peaceful death there was. Possibly when a person passed on in their sleep after a fulfilling life. Not like the smell that echoed around a battlefield when the battle was over. Strangely, she found his hidden scent comforting, maybe because she believed that her death would be as peaceful as his scent was when she breathed it in.  
“You’re the best meister, okay?” Birdie murmured, focusing her attention back to Kid. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.  
Kid’s brows furrowed, turning his head to look at her, “I don’t see how.”  
“Well, I mean, think about it,” Birdie smiled gently as she drew all her points to the forefront of her mind. “You never push me too far, stopping instantly during training whenever I’ve reached my limits even though I want to keep going. And while Maka and Blackstar are amazing meisters, sometimes they don’t really pay attention to their weapons’ feelings. We have feelings too, y’know? Even if we’re not technically human.”  
Kid’s eyes softened as he looked at her, during the last of her small speech she had started moving her hands without realizing, rubbing circles into his palm with her thumbs. He had noticed it was a trait of hers, she always did something with her hands when she spoke of anything that made her nervous.  
“Birdie, you and all the other weapons are human too, even if you can eat souls and change into a deadly weapon,” Kid murmured.  
Birdie offered him a thankful smile before she asked, “So is today a lie in bed and not do anything kind of day?”  
Kid’s lips twitched into a smile, “Yeah, it is.”  
“Sweet,” Birdie grinned. “I’m gonna get some snacks then I’ll be back.”  
Kid chuckled and nodded, moving his hands back across his abdomen. Birdie always seemed to know exactly what he needed. He began to frown as the minutes ticked by, how long did it take to grab snacks?  
Twenty minutes later, minutes Kid spent staring at the ceiling, a TV on a makeshift wheeled stand rolled in, being pushed by Birdie. She heaved a breath as she got it in place in front of his bed, “”TV’s are really heavy, bro.”  
“They do tend to be,” Kid agreed as Birdie plopped a platter of snacks at the foot end of the bed.  
Kid lifted himself into a sitting position and turned to rearrange his pillows so that they could lounge back comfortably without fully lying down. Birdie sat in bed next to him, pulling the platter closer as she turned the TV on. She grinned at him as a movie began. Kid groaned as he realized it was a princess movie.  
“It’s a good movie!” Birdie defended.  
Kid just groaned again.  
Kid didn’t pay much attention to the movie, but what he got from it was that a girl had really long, magical hair. He shook his head and snuck a look at Birdie, wondering how long her hair was under the beanie. He knew he couldn’t just pluck the hat off her head- Blackstar had tried and got punched in the face just yesterday.  
“Birdie?”  
The girl jumped slightly, smacked out of her intense focus on the movie, “Yeah?”  
“Why do you always wear that hat and hide your hair?” Kid wondered.  
Birdie placed a hand against her beanie, as if making sure it was still there, before offering a smile, “So people focus on me rather than my hair.”  
“Would you trust me to see it, someday?” Kid asked, glad the hope he felt in his chest didn’t appear in his voice.  
Birdie tilted her head, tapping her chin in thought before nodding slowly as a sly little smile appeared on her face, “I’d say there’s a 94% chance of it.”  
Kid scoffed, a smile tugging at his lips as memories filtered into his mind of the first encounters he ever had with Birdie. Like when she told him that there was a 94% chance that she would explain why she could form her weapon form in her hand.

They spent the rest of the day in comfortable companionship, switching movies when needed and snacking when wanted. Either would doze off randomly and when they woke, the other would have to fill them in on what they missed of the movie. With each passing hour, their souls grew closer and their bond stronger.  
They would need it for tomorrow, after all.

The next morning, Kid had woken up after a perfect eight hour of sleep and went downstairs to begin breakfast before he went to tackle the event of waking Birdie up. His game plan was interrupted when a knock rapped on his door. Raising an eyebrow, he walked over and pulled the door open to see Maka at the door while Soul, Blackstar, Tsubaki, and Crona waited at the bottom of the steps.  
“Hey, Kid. There’s this big mission Lord Death is sending us on, we’re leaving at noon. We wanted to ask if you and Birdie would be able to come along,” Maka smiled. “It’s okay if not, of course.”  
Kid blinked, staring at her for a long moment, “I, um… will have to think about it. Where will you be meeting before you head off?”  
“In the Death room to get a final briefing at 11:45,” Maka informed.  
Kid nodded and closed the door before leaning his back against it, feeling the grain dig into his back. His heart hammered in his chest, a mission? Could he do it? He wasn’t sure. He felt terror seep into his bones, what if he lost Birdie like he had Liz and Patty? What if he failed and his friends got hurt?  
His thoughts spiraled downwards into self-loathing as he forced himself to walk upstairs, his hands shaking. He knocked on Birdie’s door, eight times in a row before pushing it open to peek his head in, “Birdie? We need to talk.”  
He was surprised to not see her in her bed but instead leaning out the large window in her room. The morning sun’s rays lit up her skin and made her eyes almost glow. Turning her head to look at him, she offered a smile, “About what?”  
“Maka just came by asking if we wanted to join the group on a mission,” Kid announced, walking up to Birdie and standing next to her.  
“Really?” Birdie yelped, excitement bubbling in her eyes, “What’d you say?”  
“I said I’d discuss it with you and that if we wished to join we’d meet them in the Death Room at 11:45,” Kid tucked his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants; he had yet to change into more social clothing for the day.  
Birdie was practically bouncing in excitement before she took a deep breath and looked up at him, “Are you ready for a mission?”  
Kid looked into her silver eyes, so full of worry and excitement at the same time. He closed his eyes briefly, settling all the thoughts in his mind, calming his soul. Was he ready for this? Now that he was standing next to Birdie and could feel how bright and alive her soul was, he knew his answer. He nodded slowly, meeting her silver gaze, smiling slightly, “I am.”  
Birdie whooped, jumping into the air before shoving Kid out of her room, “Out out out!”   
Kid laughed as she slammed the door behind him. He had never seen her this excited. He meandered to his own room to change into his signature suit.  
He met Birdie downstairs, in her classic black turtleneck and jean shorts. She was in the kitchen, finishing preparing the breakfast he had started, a solid breakfast of French toast and hot chocolate. They finished eating at 11:00.  
Jumping up, Birdie yanked on her rollerblades and stood excitedly for Kid to be ready. Once he was, she bolted out the door, wheeling towards the DWMA. Kid shook his head fondly, summoning Beelzebub and hopping on before rolling after her. The duo breezed past the city as a chill wind passed over both of them, nipping at their faces. Birdie made it up the academy’s stairs first with the goal of getting out of the wind as fast as physically possible. She skidded to a stop inside the building and sighed in relief.  
Kid walked up beside her, “Don’t like the wind?”  
She offered him a grin, “Not when it’s biting my face.”  
As they walked into the Death Room, right on time, everyone cheered. Kid raised an eyebrow while Birdie grinned and hopped up the steps, high fiving Soul, “Hey, Alby!”  
Soul’s eyebrow twitched, “My name is Soul.”  
“And my nickname for you is Alby,” Birdie grinned before turning to look at Lord Death.  
She could sense the fondness he had for his son. Birdie smiled softly as she looked from Lord Death to her meister, who seemed rather flustered by everyone cheering and smiling at him. She decided to ease his suffering, “So what is this mission?”  
“Ah! Yes, you see, we haven’t been able to find out much about it. But we do know that something strange is occurring within souls in this city called Venier. It’s an isolated place in Wisconsin. The reason I’m sending all of you is because I don’t know the scale of this mission and don’t want any of you getting hurt,” Lord Death explained, waving his large hands to enunciate certain points.  
The meisters and weapons nodded in affirmation, determined or lax looks on their faces.  
“ALRIGHT, LET’S GO, GUYS!” Blackstar yelled, bolting from the room.  
Crona was shaking, scared by Blackstar’s outburst. Birdie set a gentle hand on their shoulder in an attempt to calm them. Everyone glanced from his dust trail to Lord Death, who shrugged, “Yeah, I told you about everything there is to it. Good luck!”

“And I thought it was chilly in Death City this morning,” Birdie groaned, hugging her arms close to herself as she skated next to Kid.  
The group had just entered Venier, getting blasted by a cold autumn wind. Trees outnumbered people by a thousand in this city, shocking colors of red, orange, yellow, and brown. Birdie thought it was absolutely beautiful. She could do without the cold though. Along with the cobblestone streets, it made it hard to skate.  
“I think we should start asking around,” Maka thought aloud, walking next to Soul, who had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket.  
Birdie envied him that jacket. She was pretty sure in all sixteen years of her life, she had never been this uncomfortable with the weather.  
“That makes sense,” Kid agreed. “Where do we start?”  
“We could go to that giant church, people at churches tend to know things,” Birdie shrugged. And hopefully, it would be warm in the church.  
Everyone agreed and they made their way to the large building. Kid instantly loved it. It had three spires, perfectly symmetrical. A large stained glass window sat in the brickwork of the building, depicting an angel rising up to heaven. The double doors were made of solid oak, standing proud and tall over the ages. The lawn was kept neatly, not a single leaf lie on the ground, and the trees were trimmed to absolute perfection.  
“Oh wow,” Kid admired the building, eyes wide.  
Birdie grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward into the church with the others. It was much warmer here. Maka was talking to the priest near the altar, in deep discussion. Soul and Crona hung back behind her, both listening to the conversation but not adding to it. Tsubaki was trying to quiet Blackstar, explaining to him that it wasn’t polite to be so loud in a holy building. Kid was admiring the excellent architecture of the building while Birdie watched her meister, making sure he didn’t try to ‘fix’ anything to make it symmetrical.  
Ten minutes later, Maka, Soul, and Crona joined the group, seeing Birdie with Blackstar in a headlock, telling him to shut up. Tsubaki and Kid looked on, not really sure what to do about their partners.  
“Okay, guys. The priest told me about what’s been going on. Apparently people have been getting affected by the seven deadly sins. For example, people who were most humble are now running around full of pride, people who were happy with their lives are now greedy for more, and some people are lusting after people they used to abhor,” Maka explained, concern on her face.  
“Do you think we’ll get affected?” Birdie asked.  
“It’s hard to say, since we don’t know what is causing this phenomenon. We’ll have to watch our backs,” Kid answered, looking around the church.  
Everyone nodded.  
“So where should we go next?” Soul asked.  
“I guess all we can do is wait and see,” Maka murmured, unsure.  
“Are you kidding!? I don’t have time for that! Let’s go!” Blackstar shouted, running from the church back outside.  
Everyone groaned and chased after him.  
They found the dark assassin on the outskirts of the city an hour later, facing off against a man who was holding a giant sack of what looked like money.  
“Blackstar, you shouldn’t-“  
Maka was interrupted in her chastising when the man whipped his head to them, shouting, “Give me more! I need more!”  
“Dude, you already have way more than you can carry,” Blackstar said, putting his hands on his hips.  
He wasn’t wrong, the brown bags in the man’s arms were nearly falling over. His eyes were crazed, light blue in color with ash brown hair. His body looked like rock to Birdie. That concerned her deeply. He had a large grin on his face, “More! More!”  
Birdie winced, “He’s louder than Blackstar. Someone knock him out.”  
She moved into the cover of a run-down building, a safe haven from the wind. Blackstar grinned and lunged towards the man, who leaped out of the way to be only ten feet from Birdie. Blackstar punched him into the wall she was standing by.  
Everyone knew Blackstar couldn’t control his punches, but they didn’t expect the building to be that weak. It crumbled and cracked. Birdie looked up just in time to see a slab of wall plus more debris heading straight for her.  
Kid’s eyesight tunneled. He saw his weapon partner staring up as the wall began falling. One thought repeated through his mind as he pushed his foot into the ground, rocketing forward, “Save her. Save her. Save her. Save her.”  
This mantra repeated in his head as his body collided with hers, slamming them both into the wall.  
Everything went dark.


	9. Chapter 9

Kid’s mind snapped back into focus, he must’ve blacked out for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t actually see anything. He could feel a lot though. Debris pressed up against his back, and Birdie’s body pressed against his front. One of his forearms was against the wall, just beside Birdie’s head. His other arm was wrapped around Birdie’s waist, where he had looped his arm to keep ahold of her when they slammed together. His head was buried in the crook of Birdie’s neck, his lips almost touching her collarbone. The vein in her neck pulsed erratically against his ear, giving away how scared she was. Her breath was shallow, her chest gently pressing against his with every inhale.  
“Birdie, are you alright?” Kid coughed out.  
“TK, oh thank Death. I thought you were unconscious. I thought I was going to be stuck here all alone and I did not like that idea. No, I did not,” Birdie rambled, voice shaking. Her whole body was shaking actually.  
“Are you alright?” Kid repeated, worry seeping into his voice.  
“Well, I mean,” Birdie laughed shakily. “Can I just change into weapon form?”  
“I wouldn’t advise it,” Kid frowned. “Any movement we make could cause this debris to crush us.”  
Birdie whimpered, “Great.”  
Her pulse quickened against his ear, her breathing turning even shallower.  
“Birdie, it’s going to be okay. I’m sure Maka is digging us out with her bare hands right now,” Kid comforted.  
“I just don’t do well in dark, cramped places,” Birdie admitted.  
Of course.  
“You’re claustrophobic?” Kid asked.  
“That’s a word for it,” Birdie began shaking harder, at this point the debris was going to fall on them from the vibrations she was causing.  
“Birdie, you need to focus on something else. We’re going to be okay, but you need to take your mind off of where we are,” Kid advised, ignoring how close she was to him.  
Birdie swallowed hard, scrambling to find something to focus on. The wall against her back, it wasn’t very comfortable. Kid pressed against her front. Right, that. His breath brushed against her collarbone, the heat seeping through her sweater. His hair tickled her cheek, rather pleasantly. His whole body was solid muscle, she realized. Her breath shallowed even more. Why had she never realized he was this attractive? His arm was wrapped around her waist, barely any pressure at all. Birdie’s own arms hung at her sides, pressed against the wall. Their legs had become entwined when they had slammed into the wall. One of his legs was pressed between hers, pulling their hips together.  
A small part of her wanted nothing more than to move her hips forward into his. The rest of her grabbed that part and dropkicked it to the moon. She groaned, why did she have to have teenager hormones? Just why?  
Kid sighed in relief, Birdie’s shaking had gone down to instead become rigid. He wanted her to relax, otherwise her muscles would begin to cramp.  
“Birdie, we’re going to be okay. They’ll get us out and then I’ll kick Blackstar to next week,” Kid murmured.  
Birdie just made a little sound in the back of her throat that was half-whimper, half-affirmation. She didn’t relax.  
Kid sighed, not sure how to remedy this whole situation. His thoughts drifted to how she was pinned against him. His nose was filled with the scent of green apples and shea butter, the scents of her shampoo and body wash. The fabric of her sweater smelled like lavender. The black threads were soft and warm around his face. Her chest pushed against his, soft as she breathed. Notorious thoughts filled his mind before he quickly shoved them away. How ungentlemanly of him to think such things. He wanted nothing more than to make sure she was okay, to get her to focus on anything other than darkness and debris that crowded them.  
Kid gripped her around the waist tighter, his fingers gripping her side, subsequently pulling her even closer.  
“TK?” Her voice was more of a squeak than anything.  
“I promise you’ll be alright, you’re not going to get hurt here,” Kid buried his face further into her neck. “I’m not going to lose you too.”  
Kid could sense her soul flutter as tension slipped from her body; she breathed out a thank you.  
With a shifting of rubble, light filtered in from above. “Kid! Birdie! Are you guys okay?” Soul shouted down.  
“Yeah,” Birdie forced out. “Please get this rubble off us.”  
“We’re almost there, just hang tight,” Soul called down before leaving to help move more rubble.  
With an opening to the outside world, it was easy to hear everyone’s grunts and shouts of effort as they pulled debris away from where Kid and Birdie were trapped.  
Ten minutes later, Ragnorak shoved the last slab of concrete away to reveal a dazed Kid and Birdie. Maka and Soul helped lead the duo from the building. Birdie sat down on the ground and just stared at the pavement, shaking slightly. Kid on the other hand, marched right up to Blackstar and kicked him in the gut, “You damn idiot! You should be more careful! You nearly got us killed!”  
Blackstar laughed loudly, “Sorry! Sometimes I just forget how great I am!”  
Kid had murder in his eyes as he glared down Blackstar.  
Crona walked up to Birdie and knelt down, “Are you okay, Birdie?”  
Birdie looked up and offered a tight smile, “Yeah, I just don’t do well in dark, cramped places.”  
Crona nodded, their face giving away just how much they understood that fear, turning their head to look at Kid yelling at Blackstar, “At least he was there with you, right?”  
Birdie followed Crona’s gaze and smiled, “Yeah.”  
She blamed the heat in her face on the stress of being trapped between slabs of concrete. Yet she couldn’t force the feeling of Kid’s body pressed against hers out of her mind.  
Crona nodded and stood, offering their hand to Birdie. She gripped it gently as they pulled her up with amazing strength.  
“You two are pretty lucky that I’m here,” Ragnorak said, appearing from Crona’s back. “Otherwise you’d still be stuck!”  
“Yes, thank you, Ragnorak,” Birdie shook her head at the little demon weapon, who crossed his arms.  
Birdie laughed slightly and turned to look at her meister, body heating. He had dirt smudged on his face, his black hair was slightly askew, and his face was flushed- most likely from anger directed at Blackstar. Maka, Soul, and Tsubaki watched the two meisters argue worriedly. She briefly noticed the man with the bags of money was gone. Crona stood quietly next to Birdie as she crossed her arms, slowly regaining her self-control and easy confidence now that she was in open air.  
“Guys! Arguing isn’t going to help the mission,” Birdie shouted, marching up to the two boys and shoving them apart.  
She shot a frown at both of them before taking a long breath, “Blackstar, apologize.”  
Blackstar blinked as the demon weapon shot a glare his way, “Uh, yeah. I’m sorry for causing part of the building to fall and getting you two trapped.”  
Birdie nodded and turned to Kid, “All set and done. Maka, where are we going next?”  
“Well, we had Tsubaki follow the man when he got up and ran, and she saw him go into this formerly abandoned apartment building,” Maka turned to look at the Dark Arms weapon.  
Tsubaki nodded, “Once everyone is ready, I’ll lead the way.”  
“Good news, finally,” Birdie grinned.

The seven stopped in front of a tall building, around twenty stories. The dark brick towered above them, vines creeping up the sides. Nearly all the windows were shattered, leaving gaping holes that looked eerily like mouths. Cracks shot across the brick, usually leading out from the frame of a window. The double doors hung off their hinges, broken and useless at their job.  
Crona was visibly shaking. Tsubaki, Soul and Maka’s faces were thoroughly creeped out. Kid’s face was that of impassiveness. Blackstar and Birdie looked absolutely psyched. Blackstar because he wanted to wreak havoc in that building to prove how much of a star he was. Birdie’s motives were different, she just absolutely loved creepy places. She did read horror books, after all.  
In silent agreement, all demon weapons glowed before landing in their meisters’ hands as their respective weapon. Crona’s black sword appeared in their hand. The meisters took a long breath before cautiously entering the building.  
It was just as run down as the outside, glass shattered across the ground and chairs knocked over and decaying. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls, showing the insulation of the building. The carpet was little more than threads across the ground. Silence echoed around the hallways, almost palpable in the cold air.  
“So creepy,” Maka’s lips turned downwards as her emerald eyes searched for movement in the dark building. Everything was still.  
“I don’t like this,” Kid murmured, low enough that everyone could barely hear him. “We need to-“  
Tendrils of light shot from the darkness, wrapping around the meister’s limbs and around the weapons themselves. Everyone let out a shocked cry as they were dragged down separate hallways. The weapons cried out, voices metallic as a shock went through them. The meisters didn’t make a sound as they were dragged into the darkness.  
Soon, all that moved in the lobby of the apartment building with the broken glass and the tipped over chairs, was a single rat as it sniffed for food.

Crona groaned as they pushed a chair off of their legs, rubbing at their head. Ragnorak was yelling at them to get up and get their butt moving. Crona swayed up onto their feet and looked around. It was dark, with only some moonlight trickling in through the shattered window. How long had they been unconscious? There was no way to tell. Looking around the room, Crona saw it was one of the apartment complexes, completely bare- no one had lived here even when the apartment was still running. Rubbing at their temple, Ragnorak’s hands on top of their head, Crona left the room to enter the hallway. It was even darker here. Shaking slightly, Crona stepped forward and began to walk down the long corridor, looking around trying to find out at least what floor they were on. Finally, they saw a door with a faded number painted onto the wood- 327.  
“We’re on the third floor,” Crona stated.  
“Well, no shit,” Ragnorak grumbled.  
Crona ignored the weapon and eventually found the stairs, where they stood unsure.  
“Would the others be upstairs, or down?” Crona pondered.  
Ragnorak just offered an unhelpful, “Figure it out.”  
Crona finally decided to go up and search for their friends before they would go back down. They hoped everyone was okay.

Birdie wanted to kick something.  
First, she couldn’t see anything, second, she was stuck underneath something. A very heavy something, most likely a couch. She had no idea how she had gotten there and she was pissed about it. She had played with the idea of calling out but had thought better of it. Clearly, there were other things in this building than just her friends. She wriggled and thrashed to no avail. She briefly wondered if changing into weapon form would allow her to adjust enough for an easier escape. She tried. She failed. Why the fuck couldn’t she turn into weapon form? Now she was even more pissed.  
She only had one arm free, the other bent at an uncomfortable angle underneath her. She put her free hand behind her head. She might as well chill if she was going to be there a while.

Soul groaned, rolling onto his side as he reached a hand to the back of his head. His hand came back with the slightest smear of blood. Great. With another groan, the scythe sat up, hitting his head on something hard. He winced and looked up at the bottom of a counter. Frowning, he realized he was underneath the counter of a kitchen, the doors of the cabinet broken and doing little to keep him inside. With another groan, he rolled out from the counter and stood, rubbing at his shoulder. Moonlight lit up the room through a giant hole in the wall, crumbled off from wear. The room was empty except for a table in the center and counters along the side. He couldn’t make out their color in the dim lighting. A door hung ajar on the far wall. He tried to recall what had happened after the tendrils of lights had wrenched him away from Maka. He remembered being practically shocked out of weapon form. Weird.  
“This entire situation is so uncool,” Soul grumbled to himself, walking across the threadbare carpet towards the door, crimson eyes glancing back and forth for any movement. He didn’t find any. But he felt something watching him, maybe even laughing.  
“So uncool.”

Tsubaki let out a whimper as she opened her eyes. Her body felt like she had been statically shocked everywhere. She pulled herself to her feet, leaning against a wall. She was in a hallway, dark and empty. The carpet was all but gone in some places with doors hanging off their hinges while others were either splintered or gone all together. One door had a faded number painted on it, 524.  
Tsubaki brushed off her clothes, mumbling to herself, “Fifth floor? Okay, there’s 18 floors to this buildings according the elevator I saw in the lobby. It’ll make the most sense to check the elevators to make sure no one is inside then go through the stairs. Up first, then I’ll go back down. I should be able to find the others that way…”  
The Dark Arms kept rambling to herself, formulating a plan to keep herself calm and levelheaded. She didn’t leave a chance for the fear of being alone in a dangerous building get to her. She took a deep breath, steadying her racing heart, before she pushed herself off the wall and towards the elevator a ways down the hall.

Crona’s whole body shook as they began climbing to the fifth floor. They had searched the fourth floor and found not a soul there. They felt like something was watching them. It freaked Crona out to no end. Ragnorak was complaining about being hungry as they stepped into the hall of the fifth floor when they spotted Tsubaki looking questioningly at the elevator. They hadn’t noticed a certain fact because of the darkness in the stairwell.  
“Tsubaki!” Crona gasped happily, jogging to the weapon.  
Tsubaki looked over and smiled, “Crona! Are you alright?”  
Crona nodded, “Have you seen the others?”  
Tsubaki shook her head, “I was going to check the elevator but it’s not coming up. It’s apparently stuck on the first floor. We should probably just head to the next floor. I’ve already checked the rooms on this floor and there’s no one else.”  
They failed to see that in the darkness above, the ceiling was far up, with just pillars in certain areas holding it up. They reached the stairs to discover the nonexistence of the steps. Peering into the darkness, they saw a slab of concrete that held the stairs that led between six and seven. The stairs between five and six, however, were all but dust. Along with most of the sixth floor, they realized.  
“How do we get up now?” Crona trembled.  
Tsubaki shook her head, “…A ladder?”

Birdie grumbled and groaned, bored out of her mind. She hated being trapped under this couch. It was an extremely heavy couch. From what she could tell, the couch had been knocked onto its back mostly on top of her. She had grown very uncomfortable with the couch digging into her abdomen and her arm trapped beneath her. Furthermore, she had nothing better to do than worry. She worried about her friends. She worried how she was gonna get out of here. And most of all, she worried that Kid was somewhere seriously hurt.  
“This entire situation fucking sucks,” Birdie grumbled to herself, trying and failing to ease her aching shoulder.  
Tap. Birdie lifted her head. That sounded like footsteps. That sounded, more specifically, like Blackstar’s noisy footsteps.  
‘MOTHERFUCKING BLACKSTAR!!” Birdie screeched at the top of her lungs.  
She heard a shrill scream and a thud that was most likely Blackstar falling onto his ass. She couldn’t help but laugh though she immediately regretted it as pain spiked in her abdomen.  
She heard Blackstar creep into the room, “Who’s there?”  
“Birdie. Help.” Birdie said, waving her free arm in the air, hoping it was visible.  
“Birdie!” Blackstar cheered, running over to look down at her.  
Birdie could just make out his outline in the darkness. She was almost sure Blackstar could see her easily. Damn his sharp senses and them being so good. Blackstar grabbed the couch and lifted, barely breaking a sweat. Birdie scrambled back and made sure her roller blades were securely fastened before standing, rolling her shoulder, “Damn, that sucked.”  
Blackstar nodded sagely, looking around, “We’re on the 8th floor in case you didn’t know.”  
“Obviously,” Birdie shrugged, rolling out into the hallway.  
“I’ve devised a plan to go up to the top,” Blackstar grinned.  
Birdie looked over to him and nodded. In the pale moonlight filtering in from windows and holes in the walls, she could see his eyes were greener than before. She didn’t comment on it, “That’s feasible. Let’s keep going. Hopefully we’ll find the others-“  
A scream interrupted what she was saying. It came from below. Birdie let out her own screech when Blackstar punched the floor beneath them before grabbing Birdie and yanking her back before she fell with the rubble. The duo peered down as the dust cleared to see, far down below, Crona and Tsubaki. Crona was flat on their back, looking dazed. Tsubaki was staring up in shock. Blackstar had sent rubble all the way through two other floors, the seventh and sixth. Birdie simply couldn’t believe this kid’s strength.  
“Tsubaki! Crona!” Birdie called, “You good?”  
“We’re fine!” Tsubaki called up. “We can’t get up there because the sixth floor has crumbled!”  
Birdie looked around and noticed that was, in fact, true. The sixth floor was more holes than floor. “Wait there! I’ll try to find something you can climb up here with!”  
Thus, Birdie went searching. She had been hoping for a really long rope, but that wasn’t probable. So she searched through the rooms for tattered blankets still left and began tying them together to form a makeshift rope. It took a lot of blankets plus a few towels. Within a half hour, Blackstar and Birdie were holding one end of the makeshift rope while Tsubaki and Crona climbed up from the other end. All four met up and explained where they had woken up and what had transpired since.  
“Well, let’s keep going up,” Birdie decided. “Blackstar, tie that rope to something so we can get down later.”  
Blackstar mock saluted the weapon and went to do so, Tsubaki went with him, glad to be with her meister.  
“Are you okay, Crona?” Birdie asked worriedly, noticing they were rubbing at their chest.  
“Y-yeah. I just… don’t feel normal,” Crona mumbled.  
“No joke! I’ve been trying to harden Crona’s blood since we got here to keep the little shit alive but I can’t,” Ragnorak yelled, throwing his tiny arms up.  
Birdie frowned, “That… weird. I can’t turn into my weapon form. Ragnorak, can you turn into a sword?”  
There was a moment of the Demon Sword trying, then he shook his head, shrugging.  
Birdie’s brows furrowed in concern as Blackstar and Tsubaki came over.  
“Tsubaki, turn into weapon form,” Birdie demanded.  
Tsubaki blinked, “O-okay.” By her frown and her gasp of shock, Birdie figured she couldn’t.  
“Blackstar, can you use your soul force?” Birdie wondered.  
“Of course I can use my soul force-,” Blackstar began bragging as he went to do it to a wall. His eyes widened. “Why can’t I use my Blackstar Big Wave!?”  
Birdie shook her head, “I don’t know. But something has screwed with our abilities. And I don’t know when they’ll be back. As of right now, it seems we’re screwed if we run into a fight.” She shrugged nonchalantly, heading to the stairs.

Soul stopped short of reaching the stairwell. That was a really loud crash he had heard coming from below. He grimaced and began heading towards it, going downstairs instead of up. He had discovered he was on the 11th floor, and was about to head to the 12th when the crash had occurred. He sighed and began trotting down the stairs to the 10th. He sincerely hoped that it was his friends and not some unknown crazy person that had made the crash happen.  
He couldn’t get over how uncool everything was at the moment.

“Really?” Birdie crossed her arms, glaring at the section of missing steps. It was much too wide for any of them to jump. Well, Blackstar might be able to manage it.  
“Don’t worry, guys! The great Blackstar has this covered. Birdie! Come here!” Blackstar grinned.  
Birdie did not trust that grin, “Uh-uh. Get away from me you little shit-“  
Birdie screeched as Blackstar grabbed her by the waist and threw her up from the 9th floor to the 10th floor. The door opened to the stairwell and she caught sight of white hair before she crashed.  
Birdie groaned, rubbing her head as she sat up, “Alby!”  
The weapons grinned at each other. Soul waved, “Sup? Also, stop calling me that.”  
Birdie ignored him and ran to the stairwell to call down, “Albino’s up here!”  
There were collective sounds of relief from down below before Tsubaki and Crona were tossed up in quick succession. Blackstar appeared a moment later, having leaped up by himself. Birdie was again bothered by the thought that Blackstar could do anything he put his mind to. It freaked her out a little bit, to be honest.  
She shook herself and looked down the hall of the 10th floor, “Seen anyone else?”  
Soul shook his head, “I was about to go up to 12 when I heard a crash. I haven’t actually looked around this floor.”  
Birdie nodded, “Okay. Let’s do that. We’re only missing Kid and Maka now. They shouldn’t be too hard to find.” She hoped so anyway.  
The five academy students searched through the 10th and 11th floors, double-checking to make sure no one else was there. There had been a small crisis when Crona got their foot trapped in a hole they hadn’t seen as they walked into the room. It was quickly resolved when Blackstar broke the floor around them as Birdie dragged them away. After that, they headed to the 12th floor only to find their process hindered by yet another set of broken stairs.  
Blackstar didn’t waste any time in tossing them to the next floor, leaping after them. Birdie noticed that he was beginning to look a little tired. He had been doing most of the power work, already in a weakened state after whatever those threads of lights had done to them. She resolved to keep an eye on him so he wouldn’t go overboard.  
As they stepped onto the 12th floor, the group noticed something different. People were there. They sat along the walls or hidden in the rooms, hunched over with their heads down. Tsubaki crept towards one, reaching out her hand, “Are you okay?”  
She instantly withdrew her hand with a yelp, having touched the person’s shoulder. A single thread of light clung to her finger. She quickly shook it off.  
As the group looked closer, they saw strands around all of them, clinging to their bodies with a sickly aura. Birdie shuddered. Those things had touched all of them.  
“Hey, isn’t this the guy Blackstar punched into a wall?” Soul asked, pointing with his thumb to the man he was kneeling in front of. The man had bags of money around him.  
“Yeah. Yeah, it is,” Birdie mumbled, noticing odd things around each person.  
Some had money or food around them. Others had lingerie or other undergarments clasped in their hands. A few had knives or other weapons.  
“Seven deadly sins, right,” Birdie grumbled, wrapping her arms around herself. “This is all way too weird and creepy.” Then she broke into a grin. “This is awesome.”  
Tsubaki, Soul, and Crona stared at her in shock while Blackstar just grinned and nodded. Crona inched closer to Birdie until they were practically hiding behind her. Birdie smiled gently, grabbing their hand and tugging them along as they continued along.  
Each time they would pass a person, they’d attempt to elicit a response from them to no avail. The people’s eyes wouldn’t even move.  
“Do you think they’re okay?” Tsubaki worried.  
Birdie shrugged, “Hopefully they’re just… sleeping with their eyes open?”  
The group reached the 14th floor, everyone other than Birdie and Blackstar getting more creeped out by the second. The people on this floor were just like they were on the former two.  
Everyone let out a scream as one person, a young boy, lifted his head, staring at them with wide, blank eyes.  
“Uh…” Birdie summed up everyone’s thoughts.  
Slowly, achingly slow, the boy lifted his arm, the limb shaking the entire time. The threads around his body seemed to recoil and try to tighten. Blackstar frowned, swearing that they were hissing. The boy’s arm stopped moving, the index finger stretching to point at a room, 1403.  
Birdie kneeled in front of the boy, “Who are you?”  
The only response she got was a slow, eerie blink. Birdie’s lips flattened into a line as she stood, turning to the room, “I guess we should check it out?”  
“Could be a trap,” Soul advised.  
“Either way, it might be Maka or Kid,” Birdie walked towards the room, peaking in.  
The room was dark, nearly impossible to see inside it. She could hear faint breathing from somewhere in the still room. “Blackstar, I need your eyes, get over here.”  
Blackstar trotted over, grinning, “The great Blackstar does have some awesome eyes, huh?”  
“Shut up and go in there. Check it out, you’re the only one that’ll be able to see in there. Scream if you need help,” Birdie shrugged, clapping him on the back.  
Blackstar grinned and gave her a thumbs up before wandering into the room. A minute passed before the dark assassin walked out, carrying an unconscious Maka.  
“Maka!” Soul yelped, rushing forward.  
“She’s alive, just unconscious. I tried to wake her but she wouldn’t budge,” Blackstar informed, letting Soul take her.  
Birdie pressed her index and middle fingers to Maka’s neck, feeling for a pulse. “Her heartbeat is slow, almost like she’s in a coma.”  
Soul grimaced, moving Maka onto his back, his arms looping around her legs, “Let’s keep going. The sooner we get this mission over with the sooner we can get back home. Dr. Stein and Nygus should be able to wake her up.”  
Birdie winced in sympathy at the worry in Soul’s voice. Worry had been eating at her as to where Kid was. He was the only one missing now. She bit her lip, fighting back a scream as they continued.  
Crona grabbed Birdie’s hand, squeezing it, “Kid is okay, Birdie. He’s a grim reaper. He can handle himself.”  
Birdie offered them a small smile, “You’re right. I just…”  
Crona squeezed her hand again, “I know.”

“What the fuck is this shit?” Birdie groaned, staring at the mess in front of them.  
They had made it to the 16th floor to find threads stretching across the hall, every which way. It appeared impassible.  
“Dude, this is like one of those spy movies,” Soul noted.  
Birdie couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips, “Guess we’re the spies then. I can go through and check the rooms before we continue up.”  
Soul frowned before nodding, “You’re one of the most flexible in this group. You’re probably the best choice.”  
“Exactly,” Birdie nodded, rolling her shoulders. Birdie crept towards the threads, standing right in front of them. Grimacing, she realized she’d have to leave her rollerblades behind. With a tight sigh, she pulled them off, tossing them towards Soul, where they fell to the ground near him. “Watch those. If anything happens to them, I’ll roast you alive.”  
Soul saluted her as she ducked under the first thread, feet clad only in pastel pink fuzzy socks. No one commented on it.  
Birdie tracked her path as she ducked and weaved between the glowing strands of possible death. Several times, she came within millimeters of a thread. Birdie was shaking halfway through and had to stop in a relatively clear space, where she was bent at the hips to duck under a thread. She placed her hands on her knees, shaking.  
“Birdie?” Tsubaki called worriedly.  
“I just… need a moment,” Birdie grimaced, her abdomen had been bothering her since she had a couch digging into it for so long. She hoped she didn’t have any internal bleeding or something. The pain hadn’t bothered her too much until she started twisting and turning through these threads. Gritting her teeth, the weapon kept moving. She locked the image of Kid in her mind. Her mission wasn’t to solve the problem of this town right now. Her mission was to find her meister and make sure he was safe. For all she knew, he could be in one of these rooms.  
That single image got her safely through the threads, checking all the rooms, and back. She stretched, letting out a groan as her back popped. “Okay. Next floor.”  
They went into the stairwell, climbing the steps to the 17th floor only to find halfway up, the threads began again, blocking the way.  
“Oh great,” Soul grumbled.  
“Everyone ready for dodge and evade?” Birdie asked.  
“How will we get Maka through?” Tsubaki wondered, glancing at the unconscious meister.  
“Well,” Birdie shrugged helplessly.  
“Oh well, it can’t be helped,” Soul shrugged, moving Maka as he sat down on one of the steps so she was held in his arms. “You’ll just have to go on without us.”  
“What!?” Birdie yelped. “We’re not leaving you behind!”  
“Birdie, there’s no other choice. I’m not risking Maka hitting another thread and I’m not leaving her alone either.”  
Birdie only relented when she couldn’t think of a better option. “Fine, but if you die I’m bringing you back and kicking your ass.”  
Soul chuckled and gave her a thumbs up, “Good deal.”  
Birdie dropped her rollerblades next to him, “I’m trusting you to watch these.”  
Soul saluted her before he turned to look down at Maka.  
Birdie turned to the others, “Ready, guys?”  
“Born for it,” Blackstar grinned, bouncing from foot to foot.  
Tsubaki nodded while Crona shook their head vigorously. Ragnorak had gone back into Crona’s blood system a floor ago.  
“It’ll be cool, Crona, you’re the thinnest of us. You’ll have the most space to move. You’ll do fine,” Soul assured, offering a crooked grin to the meister.  
Crona nodded slowly, offering a small smile back.  
Heaving a sigh, Birdie ducked into the threads again. It wasn’t long before she realized it was a lot harder to maneuver through threads on stairs than it was on even ground. The four ducked and weaved through the threads up to the 17th floor, where they found the people covered in threads actually moving around as if they were zombies. The people moving caused the threads crossing the floor to move as well. Birdie groaned as she watched the shifting maze.  
“There’s no way we can get through there,” Tsubaki mumbled.  
“You guys continue up, I’ll check the rooms for Kid,” Blackstar grinned.  
Birdie blinked, turning to the dark assassin, “What?”  
“I’ve the fastest reflexes. I’ll be able to dodge them,” Blackstar shrugged. “You three head to the 18th and check there. I’ll join you when I’m done.”  
Birdie was surprised by how logical his thoughts were. She ground her teeth, crossing her arms in the small space she had between threads, “Fine. But if you die I’ll kick your ass.”  
Blackstar grinned before heading off into the shifting threads. Tsubaki, Crona, and Birdie turned back to the stairwell, weaving their way up to the last floor.  
“Guys, I think I found the problem,” Crona murmured, sliding onto the 18th floor.  
The threads of this floor were even more tightly cramped, but there was no one walking through them. In the center of the hall sat an orb, tangled within the threads. The orb constantly shifted colors, shooting threads off.  
“I’ma break it,” Birdie nodded, weaving towards it. Tsubaki and Crona warily followed.  
Birdie grimaced as she got five feet from the orb. The threads were practically impassible. “I’m so going to regret this.”  
Birdie pulled her sleeves down so they covered her hands, then she swiped her arms down, yanking threads with her. She felt electricity zapping at her arms, but the fabric of her sweater blunted most of it. She heard the shocked cries of Crona and Tsubaki as she shoved and swiped her way through, feeling her arms grow heavier and number by the second. Then she was at the orb. She shook the threads off her arms, which felt like lead now, and looked at the orb. It was flashing red.   
Before it had a chance to attack her, she grabbed it and threw it to the ground with every ounce of strength she had. It shattered like glass, as did the threads of light. Birdie collapsed onto the ground, laying on her side as her hands practically burned. Crona and Tsubaki were there in an instant, questioning if she was okay.  
The weapon ignored them, staring at the shattered glass on the ground as it lay on the ground. Smoke was rising from it and she swore she saw it turn into a laughing face, then to a creature with many tentacles. The smoke disappeared and all that was left was shattered glass. Birdie knew this wasn’t the end. Of what, she didn’t know.  
“Birdie!”  
“I’m okay, just a little dizzy,” Birdie sighed, slowly pushing herself into a sitting position. She knew she was lying. She felt like half her soul had just been chopped off. If it wasn’t for her twin soul, she probably would’ve been spot on. “We need to check the rooms on this floor quick for Kid.”  
“I’ll do that. You sit here with Crona and rest,” Tsubaki ordered, standing and dashing off into a room.  
Birdie sighed, laying back down across the floor, assuring Crona she was fine.

Using Tsubaki as a support, Birdie and her current company made it to the 17th floor where Blackstar was calming the confused people who were no longer in a waking coma. The meister looked over at them and waved.  
“They say that all they remember is a thread of light snaking towards them as they went about their lives before they blacked out. They didn’t even know where they were,” Blackstar informed.  
“Let’s get them all out of here,” Birdie decided, having recovered some of her strength after resting. “Have you checked all the rooms on this floor?”  
Blackstar nodded, “I didn’t find Kid.”  
“He must be on one of the first floors…” Crona assured.  
Birdie nodded, frowning, “I’m going to go down and check. I’ll take Soul and Maka with me. You guys get everyone off these floors and out of the building. We’ll meet outside.”  
“Are you okay to go by yourself?” Tsubaki asked, concerned.  
Birdie smiled and nodded before turning on a dime, walking to the stairwell.  
“Soul!” Birdie called down to where the weapon sat with his unconscious meister, oblivious to everything that had happened. Tugging on her skates, she told Soul, “We’re getting out of here. I’ll explain what happened on the way out.”

Soul huffed as they reached the second floor, Maka securely on his back, “Alright, let’s check these rooms.”  
Birdie nodded, already moving towards the first room. She had explained everything to Soul and told the people on the upper floors to wait for her friends that were coming behind her. They had been very calm and agreed. It helped when she told them they were from the academy.  
Soul and Birdie found the second floor empty and moved to the first floor. Birdie was about to go into the first room when she saw a familiar foot sticking out of the elevator. “You’re fucking kidding me.”  
Birdie skated over to elevator, shoving the door open to see Kid unconscious on his back, his head lolling to the side. His chest rose and fell evenly despite the dried blood she saw trailing from his hairline. Heaving a sigh of relief, Birdie pulled her meister out of the elevator and managed, after much effort, to get him onto her back like Maka was on Soul’s.  
Soul stifled a laugh as Birdie rolled up to him.  
“What?” Birdie frowned.  
“It’s just so funny how small you are,” Soul snickered.  
“I will end you,” Birdie growled as she stomped down the stairs.  
Soul wasn’t really sure how she managed to stomp in rollerblades, but she did.

“Blackstar, call Lord Death,” Tsubaki ordered as she eased the elderly woman into her rocking chair.  
Two hours had passed since they all left the apartment building. That time was spent getting everyone to their homes and explaining what happened. Tsubaki had collected the glass from the orb and put it in a bag to give to Lord Death. Hopefully he could figure out what it was. Birdie and Soul had refused to set their meisters down, antsy to get home and fix them.  
Blackstar wrote the numbers on the mirror and waited as ripples appeared.  
“Blackstar! Oh thank goodness! It’s been three weeks since we last heard from you all! I was one day away from sending Stein and Marie there!” Lord Death appeared in the mirror, his voice surprisingly worried.  
“Three… weeks…” Birdie blinked. Had they been unconscious that long?  
“Is everyone okay?” Lord Death asked.  
“Well, Kid and Maka are unconscious, we weapons can’t turn into weapons, and we’ve all been otherwise hindered,” Soul informed, walking to stand by Blackstar. “But we’re alive.”  
“Oh my, oh my. I’ll send Marie to pick you up immediately. Hang tight, kids! You’ll be home soon!” Lord Death assured before his image disappeared.  
“Yeah, home sounds good,” Birdie sighed, Kid pressing against her back.  
Her hands still burned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being so long because I couldn't figure out where I should stop it. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	10. Chapter 10

Kid opened his eyes to stark whiteness and the scent of sterilization. His body felt immobile. He noticed an IV in his arm and the beep of machines around him. The bed underneath him was edging on uncomfortable, pillows propped his head up at a restful angle. A hospital, then.  
Something moved against him. His eyes flicked down to see Birdie, bowed over the bed and using her arms as a pillow. She was asleep, her beanie slightly askew. She had dark circles under her eyes. She wore an oversized black sweatshirt that looked suspiciously like one of his own, and hopefully a pair of shorts underneath. He couldn’t tell.  
It took a surprising amount of strength for him to even lift his arm; he was almost sweating from the effort when his hand finally clasped Birdie’s shoulder, gently shaking her, “Birdie? Hey, wake up.”  
His weapon let out a disgruntled moan, burying her face in the crook of her arm, “Just five more minutes, TK-“  
Her entire body froze before she snapped to attention, sitting up in her chair, “TK! You’re awake! Holy shit, you’re awake! Do you know how long you’ve been asleep? No, of course you don’t there’s not a calendar in here. Idiot. We’ve all been so worried about you and Maka, Stein said not to worry but we all worried anyway and-“  
“Birdie,” Kid laughed, which turned into more of a wheeze. Why did he feel so weak?  
Suddenly, Birdie’s forehead thunked against his chest. “Please don’t scare me like that again,” her voice was soft.  
Kid managed to wrap his arm over her shoulders rather awkwardly, “What happened? Why am I in a hospital? And why are you wearing one of my sweatshirts?”  
Birdie snickered at his last question, “Well, after those threads grabbed us, all of us, minus you and Maka, woke up. Three weeks after we had entered, but we didn’t know that then. We found that the weapons couldn’t go to weapon form, Blackstar couldn’t use his soul force, and Ragnorak couldn’t harden Crona’s blood.”  
“What?” Kid blinked, shocked.  
Birdie waved him off as she sat up, his arm falling from her shoulders, “I’ll get to that. Long story short, we found a crystal sphere that was causing all the mayhem and I broke it.” At this, she lifted her sleeves up to show him her hands, which were wrapped in bandages from fingertip to wrist. “Second degree burns, just from touching the damned thing. After I shattered it, everyone went back to normal, you and Maka were still unconscious. When we got back to the academy, everyone was freaking out. Like, literally everyone. Soul and I were just trying to get you and Maka to the infirmary but everyone wanted to know what happened. We all finally got there. After a bunch of tests and doctor stuff, Stein and Nygus told us that our souls themselves had been attacked by those threads of lights. The weapons were guarded by our weapon abilities, Crona by their black blood abilities, and Blackstar from his tremendous soul wavelength. That’s why we all woke up sooner than you and Maka. You two didn’t have any such protection. As for why we’re in a hospital, you guys were pretty unstable fluids-wise and everything so Nygus thought it best to transfer both of you to Death City Hospital where they can keep an eye on you guys and keep you pumped with fluids.”  
Kid nodded slowly, “How long have I been asleep? And do you all have your normal abilities back?”  
“Including the three weeks at the hotel, five weeks. And yeah, they came back about a week ago.”  
Kid choked, “Five weeks!?”  
“Yeah, Maka, as far as I know, is still asleep. Those threads can do some major damage,” Birdie shrugged, looking down at her bandaged hands.  
Kid absorbed this information slowly, his brows creased. Then a smile slipped onto his lips, “So why are you wearing my sweatshirt?”  
Birdie’s cheeks reddened just slightly, “Well, uh, I told Tsubaki to grab whatever she found in the dryer and in my room and bring it here- I haven’t actually left since you got put in here- and I ran out of my shirts. So.”  
“You haven’t left?” Kid blinked.  
Birdie shook her head, shrugging modestly, “I wanted to be here when you woke up, speaking of which, I should probably tell the doctors that you did.”  
She stood, setting her hand over his own briefly, before jogging out the door. She only had white fuzzy socks on, no shoes. Kid shook his head fondly, smiling.

A million questions and a hundred check-ups later, the doctors and nurses cleared out of the room, leaving Kid to huff out a sigh of relief. Birdie peaked in, knocking gently, “Mind if I come in?”  
“Of course not,” Kid offered a tired smile.  
Birdie smiled back, “Maka’s awake, I told everyone to go visit her first. They’ll all be here within an hour or so. I figured you’d want a break after all the doctors.”  
Kid let out a huff, closing his eyes. During the midst of the doctors and nurses running around, a kind nurse had fluffed his pillows and set them so he was in a reclined sitting position. “How’s Maka?”  
“About the same as you, disoriented and weak,” Birdie shrugged, flopping down in a chair.  
“How are your hands?” Kid motioned towards where her hands were hidden underneath the overly long sleeves.  
“They’re healing, they hurt like hell though. Nygus said they’ll take another week or two to heal,” Birdie shrugged. “Carrying you around on my back after pulling you out of the elevator probably didn’t help them much.”  
“Elevator?” Kid tilted his head.  
“Oh, yeah. You were passed out in the elevator when we finally found you,” Birdie laughed. “You were the last one we found. I was not impressed.”  
The weapon and meister pair sat in silence then, Kid closing his eyes as he rested. He could hear Birdie tapping her feet against the ground. He swore it was in rhythm with the beeping of the machines around him.  
Sounds assaulted his ears when he woke up, having dozed off in the quiet of the room. He pried his eyes open to see Soul, Blackstar, Tsubaki, Crona, Stein, and Lord Death walk in, chatting amongst each other. It was rare for his father to leave the academy. He glanced at Birdie to see her rubbing at her eyes, she must have fallen asleep too.  
“Kid! It’s so good to see you awake!” Lord Death cheered, clapping his large hands together.  
“You and Maka had us all pretty worried, y’know,” Soul grinned. He looked just as unkempt as Birdie did. Kid figured Soul hadn’t left Maka’s bedside like Birdie’s hadn’t left his.  
Weapons really were something else when it came to the care and love they had for their meisters.  
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Kid apologized, his voice calm and tired.  
“Another day and I would’ve had to use my greatness to wake you up!” Blackstar grinned, gesturing grandly.  
Kid rolled his eyes. He noticed that everyone who had gone on the mission looked a little ragged, a little tired. Those threads really must have done a toll on all of them.  
Everyone settled around the room, asking Kid how he was doing and putting their own input in on what had occurred in the abandoned apartment building. Soul left only after fifteen minutes, saying he wanted to make sure Maka was doing okay. No one tried to stop him. Soon, the people settled around to talk in small groups, content that Kid was alright.  
Birdie hung close to Kid, sometimes sitting on the edge of his bed or just sitting on the floor next to his bed.  
An hour passed before a man peeked his head in, “Hey, it’s getting close to the end of visiting hours. You all should head out.”  
Birdie sent a frown his way and he chuckled nervously, “Excluding Birdie, of course.”  
Birdie nodded and continued studying her socks. Everyone left, offering good luck’s and get well’s to Kid until it was only Birdie and Kid left.  
“You’ve been unusually quiet,” Kid mentioned, turning his head to look at Birdie, who was sitting cross-legged in a chair.  
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine,” Birdie offered a small smile.  
“Birdie, we promised each other not to lie about being fine a long time ago,” Kid reminded, frowning.  
“That’s true. Okay, I’ve just been thinking too much,” she shrugged.  
“Tell me your thoughts then,” Kid said simply, watching her.  
The weapon was silent, staring at her hands. She didn’t speak for a while. Finally, “When I grabbed that crystal sphere and shattered it, I fell to the ground on the verge of unconsciousness. It had felt like my soul had just had half of it ripped off. I swore I saw the smoke trailing from the shattered pieces transform into a laughing face, then into… something with a lot of tentacles. I’ve been having nightmares since. I don’t remember them… but I always wake up with this pain in my chest. And I was so afraid that you wouldn’t wake up. That you’d die or be in a coma forever. Soul came in here once just to check up on how things were going and found me crying in that corner over there. I haven’t been sleeping much, needless to say.”  
Kid watched Birdie’s face for a long time, searching for anything else she might not be telling him. He didn’t find anything. “I’m awake now, and other than feeling a little weak, I’m perfectly fine. As for what you saw in the smoke, have you told anyone else this?”  
Birdie shook her head.  
“We’ll figure it out. As for now, you need to sleep,” Kid decided.  
“I’ll doze. It’s hard to sleep in a hard-backed chair,” Birdie laughed without heart, ending it in a sigh.  
“Birdie, I will send you back to the manor to sleep,” Kid warned.  
“Do that and I still wouldn’t sleep,” Birdie pointed out.  
“Fine, but the minute I’m discharged, you’re on bedrest,” Kid closed his eyes, discussion closed.  
Birdie chuckled, her voice joking, “Yes, sir.”  
Kid smiled as sleep pulled at his mind. The last thing he remembered before sleep completely took his was Birdie’s words, “I’m glad you’re okay, TK.”

Kid’s relief was palpable as Birdie pushed the door to Gallows Manor open. He and Maka both had been discharged that afternoon, three days after they woke up. With plenty of food and liquids, they were both back up and running. Not to their full strength, but certainly better than before. Kid collapsed on the couch, leaning his head back as he took in the scent of home.  
Birdie was at the stairs, “I’m gonna hop in the shower quick. I’ll be down soon. Yell if you need anything.”  
Kid just gave her a weak thumbs up.  
Birdie trotted upstairs, grabbing some clothes she found on the floor of her closet. She went to the bathroom and visibly flinched when she saw her reflection. She looked terrible. Shaking her head, she stripped, leaving her hands wrapped. She’d change the bandages after she showered. She’d probably need Kid’s help to do so.  
She relaxed as the hot water hit her shoulders and head, her lilac hair falling along her back. Birdie really didn’t know why she kept it so long, but she did, even though it’d make more sense to chop it all off. Yet she let it grow to cover most of her back. She shook her head at herself as she gingerly rubbed shampoo into her hair, her hands protesting the entire time.

Kid thought he’d be useful and do some of the laundry Birdie had brought with her. He wore a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that was in Birdie’s bag before they left the hotel. He’d gotten all the clothes into the washer and running before laying across the couch, pleased to be home.  
“TK?” Birdie asked as she stepped down the stairs.  
“Yeah?” Kid asked.  
Birdie walked over and frowned down at him, hearing the washer run, “You just got out of the hospital. You should not be doing laundry.”  
Kid chuckled and shrugged, looking up at her. She wore gray sweatpants and a plain white tank top. Her hands didn’t have the bandages on. Her hair was safely tucked under her beanie.  
Birdie sighed, lifting her hands. “I need your help bandaging them again.”  
Kid nodded, sitting up. Birdie set a jar of salve, a damp cloth, and a roll of bandages on the coffee table. Birdie sat down and rested her hands, palm up, on her thighs.  
Kid studied them as he grabbed the damp cloth. Her palms all the way to her fingertips were a dulling red, cracking and dry in spots, especially on the pads on her fingers. Lines crisscrossed over her palms, a darker red than the rest. Left over light green salve was still smeared across her hands.  
Birdie braced herself, holding her breath, waiting for the sharp pain of the cloth hitting her skin.  
Kid was very careful, just barely grazing her hands as he wiped away the old salve. Birdie blinked, the pain much less than she had been expecting. Kid was a lot gentler than Nygus or Stein was. She exhaled, watching as Kid ran the cloth along her palm and each finger, his other hand was cool underneath hers, keeping it steady. His brow was creased in concentration.  
Both hands were gently wiped clean of salve before Kid set the cloth down, grabbing the salve and opening it. Not a word had been exchanged the entire time. Birdie didn’t want to break the easy silence between them, so she didn’t. The cool salve touched her palm as Kid applied it using two fingers. The light green contrasted sharply with the redness of her hand. Kid was the epitome of cautious in making sure he didn’t push too hard. After that, came the bandages, which he wrapped with perfection around each hand. Birdie realized that the bandages were wrapped to be symmetrical to each other. Her shoulders shook lightly with silent laughter.  
“Thank you,” Birdie smiled.  
Kid nodded, carefully pulling himself to his feet, “I’m not sure if I trust myself getting up the stairs quite yet. Help? I’d like to take a shower.”  
Birdie hopped to her feet, holding out her arm. Kid wrapped his arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist. Together, they made it up to stairs to the bathroom.  
“I’ll grab you some clothes out of your room, just leave the door unlocked,” Birdie closed the door behind her as Kid walked into the bathroom, cutting off his sight of her. Nodding to himself, he undressed and got into the shower, letting the heat sink into his always cool skin. He heard the door open and close. He peaked out from behind the curtain and saw clothes sitting on the counter edge. Kid went back to his warm shower.

Kid managed to stumble down the stairs to find Birdie walking out of the laundry room, having put the load of clothes into the dryer. She offered him a wave before she disappeared into the kitchen. He was curious as to what she was doing, but exhaustion won out so he flopped down onto the couch.  
Ten minutes of Kid staring at the ceiling later, Birdie walked out with two plates, each balancing a mug and a sandwich. She set them on the coffee table before sitting next to him. “Eat.”  
Kid obeyed, grabbing the sandwich and eating it with fervor. He’d been eating hospital food for the past three days, and hospital food compared poorly to a homemade sandwich. Birdie laughed, biting into her own. She seemed a lot more at ease now that they were home. It was a relief to Kid, having Birdie so wound up all the time but him on edge as well.  
Kid finished his sandwich off and sipped at his hot chocolate, just as good as he remembered. Birdie was only halfway through her sandwich.  
“A couple days ago, Tsubaki and I were talking,” Birdie started, finishing off her sandwich and grabbing her mug of hot chocolate. “We want to throw a little party celebrating yours and Maka’s recovery. We’ve actually already rented a small building a few blocks away. We would’ve had it here but, eh.” Birdie shrugged.  
“When will it be?” Kid asked, intrigued.  
“Tsubaki said something about tomorrow night, if you’re up for it,” Birdie looked over at him.  
Kid shrugged, “Probably. Depends how sleep goes.”  
Birdie nodded, apparently happy with his answer. They drank their hot chocolate in silence before Birdie stretched, her arms lifting above her head, “Okay. It’s so bed time.”  
Kid’s lips twisted into a half grin, “It’s only 7:30.”  
“Don’t care. Bed time,” Birdie insisted, grabbing the empty plates and mugs before walking into the kitchen.  
Kid shook his head as he stood up, sweatpants and t-shirt rustling. Birdie flipped off the lights and assisted Kid up the stairs, dropping him off at his room before stumbling to hers. She barely managed to get under the blankets before she was asleep.  
Kid had to walk down to her room and turn off the light before going back to his own since she fell asleep so fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Domestic life, it's a thing.


	11. Chapter 11

Birdie glowered at the mirror, her eyes trained on the lilac hair that fell around her in waves. Her soft blue dress received no attention from her. The dress wrapped tightly around her bust and waist, strapless with a sweetheart neckline. The skirt was loose and often folded over itself as it ruffled. The dress stopped a few inches above her knees. It had been a gift from Maka, a while back. The meister had said they often had parties and Birdie would need something to wear.  
The door to her room was locked so Kid wouldn’t walk in and end up seeing her hair. She crossed her arms, grumbling to herself, “How in Death’s name am I supposed to keep it classy and have my hair hidden at the same time?”  
It was less than hour before the small party started, and Kid had knocked on her door three times already. He was ready to go. She had been glowering at her hair for the better part of a half hour. Birdie understood that if she wore her beanie, people would complain about how it wasn’t classy. She also knew that if she let her hair down, that’s all anyone would see. It had happened before, it would happen again. She pouted at herself before going and rummaging through her drawers, her closets, everything that could be rummaged through. Finally, she found a beret so dark blue it was almost black. Birdie couldn’t recall where the beret came from, maybe Tsubaki had left it as a quiet surprise at some point. Tsubaki did those kinds of things sometimes.  
Shrugging, Birdie walked back over to the mirror, feet bare. She twisted her hair and coiled it about her head before shoving the beret on. She adjusted it so it sat slightly crooked in the beret fashion and nodded at her appearance. Grabbing her shoes, which she had gone and bought for herself just that morning, she pulled the deep blue peep-toe high heels on. There were two straps to the shoes, one that covered most of her toes, and the other that hooked around her ankle. She had seen them and instantly fell in love with them.   
The one thing that ruined her look was the bandages still wrapped around her hands. Birdie frowned at them, sighing. No outfit can be perfect.  
A knock rapped on the door, “Birdie, we’re going to be-“  
Birdie opened the door, “-Late. I know, well I’m ready, so let’s go.”  
Kid had just frozen.  
Birdie raised an eyebrow, waving a hand in front of his face, “Friend? Pal? Amigo? You okay?”  
“Wh- yes. I’m fine. Let’s go,” Kid smiled and turned, trotting to the stairs.  
Birdie shrugged and followed, walking lightly in her heels. After wearing rollerblades all the time, she had no issue walking around in heels. To her, heels were the equivalent of slippers, her rollerblades her tennis shoes.  
While they walked to the party, Birdie took note of Kid’s appearance. He wore a nice button up dark blue shirt with a formal black jacket and slacks complimenting it. He wore no tie. She found herself unreasonable happy that they matched colors.

 

As Birdie walked into the small building turned party host, she realized the small party had turned into a big one. Many students of the DWMA were milling about as New Orleans jazz played from the speakers. She decided Soul had picked the music. Birdie didn’t mind one bit as she and Kid met up with Maka and the others.   
Both Maka and Kid were looking infinitely better, the little weight they had lost once more gained, giving their skin more life than when they were in the hospital bed. Maka wore a simple thin-strapped purple dress with a small silver belt wrapped around her waist. Her hair was curled with a silver headband holding it back. Soul’s outfit complimented hers with a redder shade of purple, almost maroon, dress shirt and black slacks. His white hair was loose and unrestricted. Blackstar, the gentlemanly man he was, was wearing a red T-shirt and, surprisingly, jeans. Birdie had been expecting sweatpants. Tsubaki made up for her meister’s too-casual appearance with a beautiful red dress that gracefully hugged her body and went down to her mid-calf. Crona wore what appeared to be a fancy, white jumpsuit. Birdie decided she’d have to teach Crona some fashion lessons when she got the chance.  
“Hey, guys,” Soul grinned as the Birdie and Kid strolled up.  
Birdie mock curtsied and looked to Maka, “How are you feeling?”  
“Pretty good, thank you. Still a little wobbly sometimes, but much better,” Maka smiled. “What about you, Kid?”  
“I’m faring well,” Kid shrugged.  
Birdie scoffed, “He’s doing wonderfully judging by how hard he was banging on my door when I was getting ready.”  
“We were going to be late!” Kid admonished.  
“We weren’t, now were we?” Birdie grinned, to which Kid just sighed.  
“Yo, we all thought today was gonna be the day we saw you without a hat, Bird’,” Blackstar near shouted.  
Everyone looked displeased with Blackstar’s outburst but looked similarly curious. Birdie frowned before covering it with a cocky grin, “Sucks for you, then. I’ma get a Shirley temple.” With that, the weapon walked away.  
“Have you ever seen her with her hair down?” Soul asked, turning to Kid.  
“No. I’m afraid she’s very keen on making sure I don’t,” Kid replied, shrugging helplessly.

The party continued on into the night, and Birdie was swinging around on the dance floor, Shirley temple in hand. Maka and Tsubaki had gone to join her some time ago. Blackstar was demolishing the buffet, Soul had finally relented to play the piano tonight and had disappeared to choose a song. Crona was wandering around, more comfortable around the other students than ever before. That left Kid on the side, leaning against a wall.   
He watched his weapon closely as she swung about with Maka and Tsubaki to the upbeat jazz that played through the room. Birdie was light on her feet as she twisted about, purposely bumping hips with one of the others playfully. His eyes trailed to her hairline, where the lilac hair showed for about an inch before the beret covered it. He remembered talking about it during their “lie in bed and watch movies” day, but that a long while ago. He resolved to once again approach her about it.  
As Kid was walking towards Birdie, Soul arrived and sat at the piano, beginning to tap out a few test notes. Everyone quieted as the jazz stopped. Birdie turned to see Kid walking towards her and offered a smile.  
“Birdie, I would like to ask you something,” Kid murmured, rather nervously in fear of making her angry.  
“You always do,” Birdie snickered.  
Soul began playing a soft song with a steady, slow rhythm. All around them, couples began to group together and dance. Kid decided to change his approach, “Would you dance with me?”  
Birdie stared at him, her cheeks beginning to turn pink, “Uh, sure?”  
Kid’s own face began to heat, “Well, it’s said to help resonance between a meister and weapon, so.”  
Birdie nodded, “Right. I’ve never danced with someone before.”  
Kid smiled, “no matter. Here.”  
He gently grabbed her hand in his own, the other leading her hand to his shoulder before placing his hand on her waist, “and then you just sway.”  
Birdie nodded, fairly rigid as they began to move.  
“Birdie, I was wondering…” Kid trailed off, brow creasing.  
“Wondering what?”  
“When will you be comfortable showing me your hair?” Kid asked.  
“Oh, I, um, okay,” Birdie tripped over her words, her face flushed. “Tonight, after the party, if you want.”  
“If you’re uncomfortable showing me your hair, you never have to. I don’t mean to pressure you,” Kid quickly assured.  
“No, it’s fine. I’m just slightly terrified of showing anyone, even you,” Birdie shrugged, gaze focused on their feet.  
“Why?” Kid wondered.  
“Because when I was little, everyone saw me as the girl with the gorgeous hair. Even my own mother. They never saw me for who I was past my appearance, you know? The only one to not see me only for my hair was Devor. He was actually the one to get me my beanie. It’s funny, it would suit me so much better to just cut it off, yet underneath my hats I keep it long,” Birdie explained, a melancholy smile on her face.  
Kid nodded, content to sway in slow circles with his weapon partner to the slow pulse of the music. He looked over Birdie’s head to see Maka and Tsubaki watching them with huge grins on their faces. He frowned at them. They shrugged unabashed at him. He glowered at them.  
“TK?” Birdie asked.  
Kid focused back to her, noticing her staring at him with a raised eyebrow, “Yes? Sorry.”  
“You seemed a little distracted, is all,” Birdie shrugged, looking back to their feet.  
When Soul’s song ended, Birdie excused herself to get some fresh air. Kid walked back to the sidelines, ignoring Maka and Tsubaki smiling at him. He shook his head, not understanding the big deal about dancing with his partner. Even so, his face felt hot.

Birdie leaned against the wall outside, drumming her fingers against her thigh as she breathed in and out quickly. She began muttering to herself, “Okay, Kid’s actions towards you won’t change. He won’t see you for your hair. Woman up, Birdie. Come on. And that dance was just a dance between meister and weapon. Nothing more. Stop overthinking shit, you little shit.” Her mantra repeated for ten minutes before she was able to go back inside.  
Soul had stopped playing the piano, the room once more filled with the sound of New Orleans jazz.  
The party continued into the night, ending a little after midnight. Birdie had dismissed herself earlier to head home by herself. Kid had watched her worriedly when she left, but didn’t argue with her decision. As the party wound to a close, Tsubaki told everyone she and Blackstar would get everything cleaned up and for the rest to head home.  
Kid mulled over many a thought on his way home, ranging from Maka and Tsubaki’s grins to Birdie’s stammering while they were dancing. His face warmed as he thought of Birdie. She had looked absolutely beautiful. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. What was the feeling growing in his chest? Shaking himself, he hurried home.

Birdie sat on her bed, staring across the room at her reflection in the mirror. She had changed into a long sleeved black shirt and blue pajama shorts, her feet clad in black fuzzy socks. Her beanie and beret lay on the bed beside her. Her hair fell in waves around her. She was shaking. She nearly leaped ten feet in the air when a knock rapped on her door, “Birdie, may I come in?”  
“Meet me on the roof,” Birdie called out instead of a yes or no.  
She hopped up and clambered out her window to pull herself onto the red tile, walking across the slanted slope before sitting down further out. She watched for Kid to appear on the moonlit night. She saw his form lift himself from his window. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants. Birdie drew her hair over her shoulder, running her fingers through it nervously.  
Kid sat beside her, not looking at her, instead at the night sky, “It’s a beautiful night.”  
Birdie nodded stiffly, “Yes.”  
Kid heaved a sigh before turning to look at Birdie. A soft smile crossed his face, “Your hair is beautiful, but I think you far surpass it.”  
Birdie was trying to figure out what he meant by that comment when he reached over and stopped just centimeters from her hair, “May I?”  
The weapon nodded, setting her hands in her lap. Kid’s fingers gently brushed through her hair, taking time to feel the strands, “Thank you, Birdie.”  
“For what?”  
“Showing me this part of you,” Kid smiled before grabbing one of her hands gently as to not irritate her wounds, folding it between his own cool ones and setting them on his thigh. “I really do appreciate it.”  
Birdie glanced over at her meister, who had turned to look at the starry sky. His hair was being teased by the soft wind, his eyes honey in the moonlight. His skin was even paler in the lighting, making him look near a ghost. His shirt hung off his shoulders, defining the muscles along them. His body was relaxed, a rare sight. This was the Kid that barely anyone got to see—when he wasn’t worried about symmetry, or being a perfect grim reaper. No, this was just Kid, without the worries and responsibilities.  
Birdie wished she could always keep Kid like this, in this perfectly relaxed time, this peace, between missions, school, and responsibilities.  
But peace could never last so long.


	12. Chapter 12

“Leave me alone,” Birdie whimpered, pushing herself further into the corner she had found.  
The laughing face was dancing around her, taunting her, calling her broken and weak. It wouldn’t shut up. The face was hidden from her, yet not. Its features changed every few seconds from an old woman to a young child to a middle-aged man and so on. The tentacles with suction cups attached to the underside of each one whipped around, grabbing or smacking her. There was no escape.  
“Please leave me alone,” she repeated, curling in on herself.  
“Now, why would I do that? You ruined all my fun! I was having so much fun and you ruined it!” The laughing face screeched.  
“You were hurting people!” Birdie shot back only to be hit by a tentacle that slammed her head back into a wall. She felt blood slide down the back of her head.  
“Who cares!? I was having fun!” The voice shrieked.  
Birdie covered her ears, “Just shut up!”  
“Oh no, you’re my new plaything,” The voice laughed, “We’ll have so much fun together.”  
“No. No no no no no,” Birdie shook her head viciously as the face came closer, engulfing her.  
She found herself standing on a rocky cliff, the waves battering at the rocks below. Her friends’ corpses lie around her. Only Kid was missing. She turned slowly to see him tangled within the strands of light, hoisted in the air like a creature stuck in a spider’s web. Blood dripped from his hairline, eyes, and mouth. His breaths were ragged.  
“TK?” Birdie whimpered, walking up to him and reaching out, trying to pull him down only to have her hands burned.  
The weapon winced back and saw her meister strangled by the threads of light, an anguished cry escaping his throat.  
Birdie started screaming.

“Birdie! Wake up!”  
Kid shook his weapon’s shoulders once again. She was screaming and shaking her head, her hair a disaster around her, yet he couldn’t get her to wake up. “Birdie!”  
Her eyes shot open and she stared at him, panicked and frightened. A sob escaped her throat, “TK.”  
Kid pulled her to his chest, resting his chin atop her head and combed through her hair with his fingers. “It’s okay. Everything is okay. We’re in Gallows Manor, in your room.”  
Birdie shook her head weakly, burying her face in his T-shirt, now damp from her tears. “You all died… you were killed right in front of me… the laughing face…”  
“I’m right here, and everyone else is at home sleeping,” Kid assured. “What’s this laughing face?”  
Birdie shook her head, the only sound she made was that of her quiet sobs. Kid adjusted them so he was leaning back against the headboard, arms wrapped around his weapon who lay against his chest. The only sound was the breeze outside and Birdie’s sobs. Kid ran his fingers through her hair soothingly, not saying a word.  
He had woken up to Birdie’s screams only an hour or two after he had to carry her sleeping body from the roof to her room before going to bed himself. Rushing to her room, he found her curled up in the center of her bed, blankets kicked onto the floor, screaming. It had taken five minutes of him trying to wake her up before her eyes opened.  
“What time is it?” Birdie’s question was so soft Kid almost missed it.  
After a glance to the digital clock in her room, he answered, “3:30 A.M.”  
“I’m sorry I woke you,” Birdie murmured.  
“There’s no need for you to be sorry. What was the nightmare?”  
Birdie shook her head, silent.  
Kid nodded, “Tell me when you’re ready.”  
They lay in silence, Kid gently untangling Birdie’s lilac hair as she sniffled and drummed her bandaged fingers against his chest. Kid figured it wasn’t a conscious action. With his free hand, he covered hers, squeezing it firmly yet gently. The weapon stilled, staring at their joined hands. Kid’s was alabaster in color, his skin cool to the touch. He didn’t have his rings on. Calluses hardened the pads of his fingertips and the palms of his hands. They were the hands of a meister, toughened from years wielding a weapon, yet also the hands of a person who lived a luxurious life, few scars crossed the skin. Then there was her hand, covered in bandages, practically none of the skin from the wrist up visible. Yet she knew underneath her hands were not nearly as fine as his. She knew scars from past battles marred her otherwise pale skin. That the pads of her fingertips still had an overly red tinge from the burns she suffered. That angry red lines crisscrossed the inside of her hands from touching the sphere. They were so different.  
Birdie closed her eyes, only to see Kid’s dead body strung up before her. She quickly opened her eyes to peer at the wall. It felt like something had been ripped out of her by that nightmare, the laughing face. She didn’t know what.  
“Do you want to go downstairs?” Kid asked gently.  
Birdie shook her head. She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to lose Kid’s touch, the assurance that he was there and alive. Kid simply nodded, continuing to comb through her hair. She quite liked the feeling.  
Taking a shaky breath, Birdie murmured, “The face… it was the same one I saw rise from the sphere… it said that I… I was its new plaything… and then I saw Maka-“ Her voice broke as tears welled in her eyes again, “They were all dead… then I turned around and you were strung up in the air by those threads of light… I reached for you and my hands burned… and then they strangled you… right in front of me… I was helpless… I couldn’t…”  
Kid sat up, bringing her with, and wrapped his arms tightly around her, “It was just a nightmare.”  
Birdie shook her head, “No, it wasn’t. Something has started… something big.”  
Kid frowned, arms tightening around Birdie so that it was almost hard to breathe, “I’m not letting you get hurt, Birdie.”  
Birdie tilted her head so that she could see his face, “TK, that’s not something you can control.”  
“I can try.”  
Birdie blinked at how determined he looked, his gaze sharp gold as he looked down at her. She simply rested her head on his collarbone, content to not move. His arms loosened around her until he was gently hugging her, his hands on her arms, his fingers absently drawing fairly symmetrical figures into the cloth of her sweater. Birdie shuddered at the soft touch.  
“Are you cold? I know I’m not a very good heat source…” Kid trailed off, worry seeping into his voice.  
Birdie blinked, “No! No, not cold. Just one of those random shudders.”  
Kid nodded, accepting the answer.  
The two sat in silence as the hours passed, 4 A.M. turned to 5, and then the sun began to peek up from the horizon. Birdie turned to watch it rise. The blue of night gave way to the golden light the sun gave, its rays painting the town with light and shadows. She felt the warm rays hit her face, gently wiping away her fears and the memory of her nightmare. She relaxed, closing her eyes, happy to let the cinnamon scent of her meister wash over her along with the sun’s rays.  
They sat for a while more until the clock read 5:30. Birdie went to stand, figuring she could make a nice breakfast and shower only to have Kid tense his arms, successfully pulling her back into his chest. Her brow creased as she tilted her head back to look at Kid. He wasn’t looking at her, instead out the window. A faint blush colored his cheeks pink. Or maybe that was just the effect of the morning light. “Sit with me a while longer?”  
Birdie’s face went bright red and she quickly ducked her head, looking down at her hands, “Okay.”  
She could practically feel his smile.

“Kid, Birdie, Lord Death wants to see you,” Dr. Stein said, looking up from his desk just as the two walked into class.  
Birdie raised an eyebrow, she wore her usual outfit, other than the dark circles that appeared under her eyes. Kid was similar, except the circles under his eyes were far less notable. The duo nodded before going back the way they came, heading to the Death room.  
As they walked, Birdie glanced at Kid, her brow slightly creased. She simply couldn’t comprehend his actions towards her recently. First, he asked her to dance with him, then he held her for hours after her nightmare, having been reluctant to let her go. She didn’t get it. Birdie tugged at her beanie, securing it further on her head as she and Kid walked into the Death room.  
“What is it, Father?” Kid asked, stepping onto the podium of the room.  
“Ah! Kid, Birdie. How are you feeling?” Lord Death asked, spinning to face them.  
“Better, why?” Kid’s brow creased in suspicion.  
“We have a situation on the west coast of England. Something is attacking ships and killing innocents—“   
“Wait, are you asking us to go on a mission? Kid hasn’t recovered enough for that,” Birdie crossed her arms, frowning.  
“Believe me, I didn’t want to ask you two, but all the Death Scythes are preoccupied with missions or other, and well, you two are the only ones capable besides them. In my opinion,” Lord Death sighed.  
“We’ll go,” Kid nodded.  
Birdie turned to stare at him, incredulous, “What!? You can’t be serious, you’ve only been out of the hospital for three days!”  
“This thing can’t be left to attack people, Birdie. I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ll have you with me, won’t I?” Kid gave her the smallest of grins.  
Birdie huffed, pursing her lips, “Fine.”  
Kid nodded, turning back to his father, “So do we know exactly what this creature is?”  
“No, we don’t, but we have heard that it’s like a kraken,” Lord Death shrugged.  
Birdie froze, “Mythical giant squid kraken?”  
“Yes,” Death nodded.  
“Great,” her voice was strained.  
“Get ready then! It’s best if you two leave ASAP,” Lord Death clapped his hands together.  
Birdie swung a weak peace sign his way before trailing after Kid back to the manor to get ready.  
Lord Death’s mask formed into an expression of worry as the two left. He could see the strain on the young weapon’s soul, a single invasive thread wrapped around it. Her second soul seemed to almost be trying to attack it. How curious. His son’s soul had a shaded spot, almost as if a part was missing. “Oh my…”

Birdie sat on the couch, waiting for Kid to be ready for the mission. She wore her usual outfit, except she had gray leggings on instead of her usual shorts. Her turtleneck, she had decided, would keep her warm enough along with her thermal leggings in the winter months up north. She absently itched at her palms, still covered in bandages. Her eyes were far off, replaying her nightmare and what she saw in the sphere a few weeks ago.  
“You shouldn’t itch at your hands like that, you could end up damaging them more,” Kid suggested, his voice soft as he walked into the living room. He sat down beside Birdie. “Are you doing alright? I was pretty sure you were paler than my father’s mask when he said we’d be facing a kraken-like creature.”  
Birdie glanced up at her meister, who was in his usual outfit despite the cold they would end up in, briefly making eye contact before she looked down at her hands, “Well, y’know. When half a nightmare you’re getting whipped and grabbed by suction-cupped tentacles, you don’t end up too keen to face a giant squid.”  
“We’re long range, you won’t get touched by the giant squid,” Kid assured, resting his hand on her shoulder.  
Birdie huffed out a laugh, nodding.  
Kid stood, turning and holding out his hand to help Birdie up. She stuck her tongue out at him and stood by herself. Shaking his head, Kid walked outside and summoned Beelzebub, hopping onto it as the wheels turned and became miniature rockets. Birdie, having never seen his skateboard do this before, just stared.  
“Yes, my skateboard is capable of flying, shall we?” Kid smirked, holding out a hand.  
“Wouldn’t it be easier if I was in weapon form?” Birdie asked, looking at his outstretched hand.  
“We’ve got a ways to travel, from what I understand, staying in weapon form can be quite uncomfortable,” Kid shrugged.  
“True,” Birdie consented, grabbing his hand.  
Kid tugged her up behind him, offering her a surprisingly warm smile, “You should probably hold on.”  
Birdie scoffed, “How dare you doubt if I can keep my balance—Holy shit!” She screeched and wrapped her arms around Kid’s chest as he kicked the skateboard forward, purposely fast.  
Kid’s soft laugh filled her ears and she glowered at him, “You did that on purpose.”  
“I would never,” Kid smirked.  
Birdie pouted as she slowly straightened herself out, looking down at Death City, shrinking as they gained distance. She relaxed her grip on Kid, moving her hands to rest on his shoulders. He stood with his hands in his pockets. She noticed that there didn’t seem to be much wind hitting them despite how fast they were moving. She chalked it up as some weird reaper abilities. She looked around at the clouds drifting above them, the desert ever-shifting beneath them. The golden sand dunes tumbled over themselves in the wind, the glow of the midmorning sun making the landscape appear surreal. She saw a coyote stalking through the sand and sparse underbrush. She couldn’t track what it was hunting. A flock of birds flew by them, chirping and tweeting at each other.  
“It’s beautiful,” Birdie smiled.  
“Yes,” Kid nodded, glancing back at her. “It is.”  
They travelled in silence for several hours, Birdie watched the country and cities pass beneath them, only one hand on Kid’s shoulder, the other hanging at her side. Desert turned to forest, the trees bare as snow began to appear, a slim coating of white over the ground. Cars drove by on highways, little specks from her viewpoint.  
“We’ll be hitting the ocean soon, do you want to stop and rest beforehand?” Kid asked, turning to look at her.  
“No, I’m good,” Birdie responded, still looking at the life beneath her.  
Kid nodded and within a half hour, the scenery went from bare trees and interstates to an expanse of crashing gray and blue. Birdie placed both hands on Kid’s shoulders.  
“So how big do you think this kraken is?” Birdie called over the waves that could still be heard even from their height.  
“Well, if it can take down ships, I’d think fairly large,” Kid shrugged, the picture of ease as he flew on his flying skateboard.  
Birdie’s lips pursed, “Yeah, should’ve figured that.”  
“We’ll be fine, Birdie,” Kid assured.  
Not looking so convinced, the weapon decided to just look at the ocean that became calmer the further they got from shore.  
“Do you think this kraken is a part of the something you believe is coming?” Kid asked.  
“I certainly feel it is,” Birdie nodded.  
“We’ll have to be cautious then.”

The wheels of Beelzebub turned just before it hit the ground, beginning to roll smoothly down the road of the small town on the coast of England. Birdie hopped off and began skating beside her meister as she looked around the town. It was a quaint town with nicely paved streets and small yet cozy buildings, everything other than the streets were covered in a thin layer of snow. People on the street looked at them curiously. A little boy, around the age of five, ran up to Birdie, a huge grin on his face. He had wavy black hair that was centimeters from being in his eyes, which were mint green. His skin was fairly tan underneath his thick coat and scarf. “Who are you?”  
“I’m Birdie,” the weapon smiled, crouching down to be closer to his height.  
“You’re new here, why are you here?” There was no malice in the child’s voice, just pure curiosity.  
“Well, we’re here from the DWMA-“  
“You’re here to stop the giant monster!” the boy shouted happily, his smile broadening.  
Birdie nodded in affirmation, “That’s Death the Kid. We’re going to take care of your monster problem.” She pointed at her meister, who was talking to a woman, most likely the boy’s mother considering her black hair that was tied loosely in a bun and tan skin.  
“Is he your boyfriend?” The boy asked, a huge smile on his face.  
“I, uh, no. He’s my meister,” Birdie stuttered, face heating up.  
The boy tilted his head, looking between the preoccupied meister and blushing weapon, “Well, I think he should be your boyfriend.”  
Birdie blinked at the little boy, “And why is that?”  
The boy just grinned at her.  
“Calem, let’s go. It’s nice to meet you, Death the Kid,” the woman walked up, ruffling her son’s hair as she waved goodbye. The boy, Calem, grinned and waved goodbye to Birdie as he walked away.  
Birdie pushed herself to her feet, hoping that she wasn’t still blushing and that Kid hadn’t heard Calem and her conversation, “What’d you find out?”  
“The kraken took down a ship just this morning, she said that if we hurry we might still find it fairly close to shore,” Kid informed. “Learn anything from Calem?’  
“No,” Birdie crossed her arms, hating the smirk that curved Kid’s lips.  
“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely a kraken,” Birdie mumbled, shading her eyes from the winter sun as she peered across the ocean towards the large reddish-orange form that was circling farther off the shore.  
“It appears so,” Kid agreed, “Let’s go.”  
Birdie nodded, her form glowing before landing in Kid’s hands as twin crossbows. The meister floated on Beelzebub above a pebbly beach, looking out across the ocean. He kicked the skateboard into movement, flying across the water, waves spraying in his wake. He could feel the nervousness rising from Birdie as their souls hummed to each other, yet not resonating.  
Kid stopped before the giant kraken, taking aim with one crossbow and firing once. The kraken screeched, a noise that grated against the meister and weapon’s ears. The beast rose from the water, a single great eye in the center of its body, large tentacles as thick as an old tree trunk rose from the water, sending waves crashing around it. The kraken screeched again, its mouth hidden by its mass of limbs.  
“Alright, giant kraken. Prepare to die,” Kid lifted both crossbows, took aim, and fired.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)

“I think our best bet is to shoot it in the mouth!” Birdie yelled over the crashing waves the kraken was making as it whipped its limbs around in an attempt to wipe Kid out.  
Kid slid between the limbs, flying on his skateboard, narrowly dodging the masses of flesh, “Why do you say that?”  
“Well, you’ve been shooting it in the eye for a while and it’s not- DUCK!” Birdie screeched.  
Kid didn’t spare a moment to look behind him or ask questions, he just dropped into a crouch, the skateboard dropping with him. He felt the rush of air as a limb passed above him, “And it’s not working, you were saying?”  
“Yes. So aim for the mouth,” Birdie suggested.  
Kid nodded, weaving between the ever thrashing limbs, “And how do we go about that?”  
“Hadn’t thought that far.”  
Kid couldn’t help the short laugh that escaped his lips, “We’ll just have to figure something out.”  
Kid searched the kraken, finally finding a wound from a past battle where part of its limb had been torn off. If he strained his eyes, Kid could see the teeth of the kraken, “Birdie, soul resonance.”  
“Got it.”  
Their souls grew closer, raising their soul wavelength tenfold. The crossbows in Kid’s hands glowed silver, the light expanding and wrapping around Kid’s wrists before dispersing, leaving two great four-tiered crossbows that had a band wrapped around each wrist as to not fall away. Bolts of Kid’s soul wavelength appeared in each tier, ready to fire at any moment.  
“Birdie, I’m going to apologize now,” Kid stated. “I’m sorry.”  
“For what?” Birdie asked suspiciously as Kid jumped over a limb that swung his way.  
“This.”  
Kid shot forward on his skateboard, edging closer and closer to the gap he had seen. He had only been twenty meters from the gap when a limb hit him and sent him flying. Despite spitting up blood, he righted himself and landing on Beelzebub, slightly hunched over.  
“TK?” Birdie asked, worry overcoming her disbelief at what her meister was trying to pull.  
“I’m alright,” Kid nodded, shooting forward again.  
As Kid neared the gap, he saw a limb heading straight towards him to slam him into the water. Spinning 180 degrees, he turned and fired both crossbows. Eight bolts shot through the air, exploding upon contact with the limb. The kraken screeched, the limb falling dead into the ocean with a crash. Kid slipped through the gap, staring up into a maw greater than a ship.  
“Holy fuck,” Birdie breathed. “I’m going to have nightmares for a month. You so owe me for this.”  
“I know,” Kid nodded, lifting his crossbows as he flew by, shooting five times into the great maw before once again focusing on his path and weaving out between two limbs as the kraken screeched, its sound broken and garbled.  
Kid flew clear of the kraken as it thrashed about, sounding as if it was choking.  
“TK, we blew a hole through its head,” Birdie stated, her voice surprised.  
Kid looked up and saw that was true, a charred and blackened hole sunk into the top of its head, straight through from maw to skull.  
“I guess that’s a job well done-“ Kid’s breath rushed out of him as a limb hit him from above, sending him crashing towards the waves.  
He heard the crash of the dead kraken hitting the water, its send-off blow complete. He heard Birdie cry out his name, felt the weight of the crossbows leaving his wrists. He heard the crack of multiple bones breaking from the contact with water. He felt freezing water rush into his lungs. Most of all, the meister felt pain in every centimeter of his body.

Birdie twisted through the salty water, her eyes burning as she reached for Kid, pulling him free from underneath a sinking limb of the kraken. She wrapped her arms under his shoulders, trying to swim back to the surface. Her roller blades were too heavy. Gritting her teeth, she managed to kick them off, watching for only a heartbeat as they sunk beneath the waves before kicking up to the surface. She sucked in a breath, swimming backwards towards the shore, fighting to keep her limbs from locking up in the frozen water.  
It took nearly twenty exhausting minutes for Birdie to reach the pebbled shore. She pulled Kid’s body out of the water, laying him down before going to listen for breath, finding none. Her heart hammered in her throat.  
“TK, don’t you fucking dare,” Birdie choked out, beginning chest compressions.  
She had thought that being taught how to do CPR was something she’d never have to utilize in her life. Now, she was all too grateful for Devor teaching her. He had decided it was mandatory for all Paper Cranes to perfect the practice.  
Feeling like her heart was going to crash out of her chest, Birdie tilted Kid’s head back and parted his lips. She set her lips to his cold ones, pushing air from her lungs to his twice before she began chest compressions again. Halfway through her count, Kid started coughing, trying to roll over to cough up a significant amount of salt water. Birdie gently pushed him to his side, letting him spit up half the ocean. Birdie bit her lip as she felt his side, how the ribs weren’t in the right place. Both were shaking from the cold.  
“Are you two alright!?”  
Birdie turned her head to see Calem’s mother running up, further back on the beach was Calem himself, his eyes saucers as he stared at the meister and weapon. “W-we’ve been better.”  
“Calem! Go get your uncle!” His mother called back to her son. Calem instantly went sprinting back into town.  
The woman ripped off her coat, wrapping it around Kid’s shaking form, who was mostly unconscious, “My brother’s a doctor; he’ll be able to help Death the Kid. Come here, I don’t have two coats so I’ll just to use myself as one.”  
Birdie began to protest she was fine, but the woman pulled Birdie to her chest, wrapping the weapon up tightly in her arms. Heat began to sink into Birdie’s skin, and she melted into the gentle, motherly touch.  
“Heidi!”  
A man came running up, Calem behind him. The man stopped short upon seeing the meister and weapon. “Heidi, grab her and carry her to the hospital. I’ve got the boy.”  
“Name’s Birdie… His is TK…” Birdie murmured, her head feeling light.  
The man crouched down in front of her, “She’s going into shock. Heidi, go!”  
Heidi, Calem’s mother, picked Birdie up with ease. Birdie began struggling, “No! I’m not going to leave my meister…”  
“Birdie, he’ll be right behind us, Erik just needs to be very cautious picking him up,” Heidi explained gently. “Calem, follow me.”  
“Is she gonna be okay?” Calem asked as his mother began jogging into town.  
“She’ll be alright,” Heidi assured.  
Birdie’s head drooped towards her chest, “Please help TK…” The darkness of unconsciousness took her.

“Birdie?”  
The weapon groaned, disoriented as she opened her eyes, “Where…?”  
“You’re in the DWMA infirmary. The family that saved you actually travelled here to make sure you two were okay.”  
Birdie’s sight focused so she could look up at Nygus, “TK…?”  
“Kid is fine, thanks to Erik’s quick work. He has a lot of broken bones, but he’s stable. He’s in the bed right next to you. How are you feeling?” Nygus placed her hand on Birdie’s forehead.  
“I’m… thirsty,” Birdie mumbled, waving Nygus’ hand off and pulling herself up.  
Nygus frowned at her for getting up so quickly, yet nodded to go get her a glass of water. Birdie stumbled to her feet, thrown off momentarily by the lack of wheels. She wore a long sleeved shirt and sweatpants, both articles fairly large on her body. Nygus had been kind enough to put her hair up back in her beanie. Birdie figured that Calem and his family along with Nygus had seen her hair. She didn’t let it worry her too much. She saw Kid on the cot next to her, near completely wrapped in bandages, and felt tears well into her eyes. She walked over to his bedside, feeling stronger with each step. She sat in the chair next to his bedside, looking down at her meister worriedly. She was glad to see the rise and fall of his chest.  
“Must you insist on moving so soon after waking up?” Nygus asked, walking back in with a glass of water. A certain five year old was peaking from behind her legs.  
“Absolutely. Hi, Calem,” Birdie smiled.  
“Birdie! You’re okay!” Calem cheered, running in.  
Nygus sighed, handing the glass to Birdie, “Every five minutes he’d come in and ask if you were awake. Are you okay with him being in here?”  
“Of course, you can let… Heidi and Erik in as well,” Birdie said after remembering their names.  
Nygus nodded, turning to let the two in. Heidi came in first, a huge smile on her face. Erik had a similar smile behind her.  
“Good to see the heroes of Fenworth are recovering,” Erik sat down in a chair near the wall.  
“Heroes of Fenworth?” Birdie echoed, confusion displayed on her face.  
“Yes, you two managed to take down the beast that had been tormenting our waters, nearly at the cost of your lives,” Heidi explained, a smile on her face as Calem took it about himself to clamber into Birdie’s lap.  
Birdie’s face turned red, lifting her arms so Calem could get comfortable, “It’s just- just what the academy does.”  
“Birdie, what you two did was amazing, even by academy standards. You two took on a three star mission, and despite Kid being a Grim Reaper, he’s still young. Lord Death was taking a risk sending you two, but luckily you both survived,” Nygus said as she went to check the IVs pumping fluids into Kid’s body.  
Birdie took a drink of water, absorbing the information, “How did you find us so quickly?” She looked up at Heidi.  
Heidi smiled, “You can thank Calem for that. He had been playing knight and dragon when all the sudden he jumped up and started yelling that we needed to go to the beach. I hadn’t the faintest why he would want to go other than to watch you two fight, but seeing the outright worry in his eyes, I decided to see what he was on about. Good thing I did.”  
Birdie smiled, looking down at Calem, “Well, thank you then.”  
Calem gave her a 1000 watt smile. No one questioned how he knew they needed help. Birdie just figured it was one of the many mysterious things children could accomplish.  
“What happened, anyways?” Erik asked. “The kraken fell, but so did you guys.”  
Birdie sighed, “Well, after shooting it in the mouth five times, well, technically forty, TK waited to make sure the kraken did fall. Little did we know, the kraken was gonna give us a brutal send-off. With one of its limbs, it smashed into TK from above and sent us both tumbling into the ocean. I didn’t get injured since I had been in weapon form.”  
Everyone was silent.  
Until, of course, a knock erupted on the door before the door promptly went flying off its hinges, Blackstar in its wake, “BIRDIE, KID! ARE YOU DEAD!?”  
“Not dead. But if you touch TK, you will be,” Birdie warned as the meister stormed in, looking between Kid and Birdie.  
“Blackstar! Please stop breaking things!” Tsubaki cried, running into the infirmary after her meister.  
“Sup, Tsubaki?” Birdie smiled.  
“I’m well. We heard about the mission, are you two doing okay?” Tsubaki asked, offering a smile to the three people in the room she had never met.  
“Been better, but we’re alive,” Birdie answered, looking down at Kid.  
“Hey, Bird, where are your roller blades?” Blackstar asked, his voice quieter.  
Birdie’s face turned downcast, “It was impossible to swim with them on, so I had to kick them off to get TK and I back to shore. So, somewhere in the bottom of the ocean.”  
Tsubaki walked over and rested a hand on Birdie’s shoulder, “I’m so sorry, Birdie.”  
Noticing Calem looking curiously at the newcomers, Birdie shook herself and said, “This is Tsubaki and Blackstar. Blackstar, Tsubaki, this is Calem, Heidi, and Erik. They saved TK and my life after the fight.” She pointed to each of them in turn.  
“We were glad to help,” Heidi smiled.  
“I’m a doctor. It’s my job to save lives,” Erik shrugged.  
Birdie took that moment to study Erik. He had wavy black hair much like his nephew, along with tan skin. His eyes were bright blue. He wore a gray T-shirt and jeans. Heidi wore a forest green turtleneck and tight jeans. Calem wore a long-sleeved shirt with the Superman symbol and jeans.  
The weapon felt a ridiculous amount of warmth for the little family, thankful to them for saving their lives and for being as kind as they were, “Thank you, nonetheless.”  
The family all smiled, each with a 1000 watt smile.  
“Why did you come to the DWMA, anyways?” Birdie asked.  
“I never leave a patient in critical condition alone. When the plane came to pick you two up after we called Lord Death, Kid wasn’t looking too good. I decided to join to keep him as stable as possible until we reached the DWMA. Heidi and Calem, not ones to be left behind, joined me,” Erik explained.  
Birdie smiled, the warmth for the family growing ever stronger. She turned to Tsubaki and Blackstar, “Where are Maka and Soul?”  
“On a mission in France, just a usual kishin egg. Blackstar and I just recently got back from our own mission,” Tsubaki smiled her signature soft smile.  
“I assume it went well?” Birdie smiled.  
“I rocked! We got that kishin egg so good!” Blackstar grinned, standing like the great star he thought himself to be.  
Birdie chuckled, drinking more of her water. She huffed out a sigh, “Hey, guys. Would it be alright if I got some time to rest? Swimming in freezing water took a lot out of me.”  
“Of course, everyone, leave the room, please,” Nygus ordered.  
“Feel better!” Calem looked up at Birdie and smiled, giving her the best hug he could muster before hopping off her lap and following his mom into the hall.  
Tsubaki waved goodbye and Blackstar gave a huge thumbs up before leaving.  
“I’ll be in my office. If you need anything, holler,” Nygus said, wandering deeper into the infirmary.  
Birdie leaned back in her chair, setting her water glass down on a bedside table, still half full. She watched Kid’s face for any sign of consciousness, seeing none, she moved to her own bed and flopped down, closing her eyes.  
Birdie hadn’t been planning on going to sleep, only resting for a little bit, when she awoke to someone prodding her. She batted at them, rolling over.  
“Birdie, I need to check your vitals. You’re making it difficult,” Nygus’ voice was frustrated, to say the least.  
Birdie frowned, pulling herself into a sitting position, “I’m fine. Scratch that, I am overly warm.” She felt like she was in an oven.  
“I’ll get you some cooler clothes once I check your vitals,” Nygus bargained, gently pressing Birdie’s shoulder so she’d lie back down.  
Birdie grumbled, yet let Nygus look her over. Afterwards, deeming that Birdie was recovering well, Nygus went to get some different clothes for the young weapon. Birdie looked over at Kid, who was still asleep, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.  
“We expect him to wake up in the next day or two. He’s on painkillers, the only kind that works on grim reapers, so he may be a bit out of it when he wakes up,” Nygus told her, walking in with a bundle in her arms. “You can go shower if you want, it’s just around the corner there.”  
Birdie nodded, taking the bundle and heading to the bathroom, unwrapping the fairly fresh bandages around her hands as she went.  
Her shower was a bit cooler than usual, trying to cool down after being under heavy blankets and thick clothing for the past day. She got out of the shower quickly, not psyched to be in water after she and Kid nearly drowned. Birdie got out, dried off, and put on the tank top and shorts given to her. She shoved her hair in her beanie, and walked out.  
Nygus was waiting for her with fresh salve and bandages. After rewrapping Birdie’s hands, Nygus went back into her office, reminding Birdie to call if she needed anything. Left alone once more, Birdie sat on her cot, leaning against the wall.  
Her day was spent laying on her cot, sitting by Kid’s cot, or visiting with those that came to visit her. Heidi, Erik, and Calem checked in every few hours, telling her that they were enjoying meeting the staff and students of the DWMA, and were actually thinking about moving to Death City. Birdie was more excited about the idea than she cared to admit. Tsubaki and Blackstar visited a couple times, letting her know what had been happening in the academy while she was stuck in the infirmary. Tsubaki had brought her a couple books from the manor for her to read, having borrowed a key from Lord Death to get in. Birdie was very thankful to have something to do. Crona, having not heard until that day that the two were even back, spent the most time with Birdie. When they first walked in, they had offered Birdie a flower crown they made. Birdie had happily set it on her head on top of her beanie. Crona wasn’t very talkative, but Birdie enjoyed sitting with them nonetheless. Ragnorak appeared from Crona’s back several times. While he was rude as always, Birdie could tell that the Demon Sword was happy she and Kid were alive.  
When supper arrived, Nygus sent all visitors away, bringing Birdie a platter of food which she happily dug into. Nygus went back into her office, leaving Birdie once more alone. She opened one of the books after she finished eating, slipping into the world the words described. She was so into the book, a horror story, that she jumped about three feet in the air when she heard a soft voice say her name. She looked over to see Kid, his eyes half-lidded.  
“TK!” Birdie grinned, rushing to his bedside and sitting in the chair. “How are you feeling?”  
The weapon hadn’t been expecting the giant smile Kid gave her, “I feel good. Really light.”  
Painkillers, right.  
Birdie smiled, “Yeah?”  
“You’re really pretty,” Kid smiled, blinking slowly.  
Birdie flushed red, “Uh, thank you?”  
Kid hummed, a smile on his face as he looked at her. Slowly, gingerly, he lifted his arm so he could touch the ‘2’ behind her ear, “Tell me about this tattoo.”  
Birdie blinked, “Uh, it just symbolizes the two souls inside my body.”  
“This one?” Kid’s hand rested over the ‘BROKEN’ tattoo written across the side of her neck.  
“It was my first tattoo, it symbolizes the loss I felt knowing that I’ve never seen my brother, and the anger and betrayal I felt since my mother never told me. It also… It’s also a reminder of the loss of a friend I had in the brief time I was without a home… she died… but that’s a story for another time,” Birdie murmured, offering a sad smile.  
Kid tilted his head ever so slightly, his hand trailing down her arm to the paper crane, “This one?”  
“’Is just to prove my status as a Paper Crane. All of us had it.”  
“This one?” Kid’s hand rested on the arrows upon her thigh.  
“A little call to being a crossbow when I turn into weapon form,” Birdie shrugged.  
“What ‘bout this one?” Kid mumbled, hand resting on the tribal bird on her other thigh.  
“When I didn’t tell Devor what my name was, he just started calling me Little Bird since I was so flighty and scared for the first month or so that he took me in. As I got older, he called me Birdie, and that’s what I was introduced as. So I decided to get that tattoo as a reminder that Birdie is who I am, not who I once was,” Birdie smiled fondly, drifting into memories.  
“What was your name before you met Devor?” Kid asked, his eyes the color of warm honey.  
Birdie shook her head, “It doesn’t matter. My name is Birdie and that’s who I am. Not the name before.”  
Kid smiled, “Okay. And that one?” He pointed down to the branches and leaves that wrapped around Birdie’s foot, ankle, and calf.  
Birdie shrugged, “That idea of having an image of nature with me at all times just sounded comforting.”  
Kid smiled, looking up at Birdie’s face, “I’m so glad I met you.”  
“Why do you say that?” Birdie blinked, cheeks turning pink.  
“Just am,” Kid’s words slurred as he yawned.  
Birdie smiled, “Get some rest.”  
Kid nodded, closing his eyes. He was almost instantly asleep. Birdie sat back down on her cot, deciding she’d tell Nygus that he had briefly been awake come morning.

Kid looked around at the group around him, Birdie at his side. Heidi, her son, and her brother, along with the rest of the usual group stood in the room. Birdie had caught him up on what happened after the kraken hit him, but he felt that she had skipped a part. He could’ve sworn he remembered rolling over and coughing up water, but she had never mentioned such a thing. He resolved to question her about it later. He looked about the group, who had all asked him how he was feeling, which he responded he felt fine, the family introduced themselves and now they all chatted amongst themselves, content to be in the same room.  
It was the next morning after he first woke up. His memory was hazy, probably because he had been high on painkillers, but he remembered telling Birdie that she was pretty and then continuing to touch each of her tattoos and asking what they meant. He decided not to say anything about that. His dosage of painkillers was lower now, leaving his clarity of mind unaffected. He felt a dull ache throughout his body, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. Birdie had Calem in her lap, her arms wrapped around him loosely. He smiled as the young boy laughed at a silly face Maka made. She was crouching in front of him, making faces to get him to laugh. Birdie was laughing just as much as Calem. Maka had a square bandage on her forehead, but was otherwise the picture of health. Soul stood by the wall, talking to Erik. Blackstar was showing off while Tsubaki and Crona watched. Heidi was talking to Nygus.  
“Your name is Death the Kid, right?”  
Kid turned to look at Calem, who was grinning at him, “Yes, I am.”  
Calem’s grin widened, “That’s such a cool name! I wish I had that name. Wait, does that mean when you get older you’ll be Death the Adult?”  
Kid chuckled, ignoring the slight pain in his chest, “When I’m an adult I’ll just be called Death.”  
Calem’s mouth formed an ‘o’ before he grinned once more, “You should marry Birdie and then she can be Lady Death!”  
“Calem!” Birdie’s cheeks turned bright red and let her head drop so her face would be hidden by the boy’s wavy hair.  
Kid’s cheeks turned a similar shade of red, “Uh, well-“  
“I mean she already kissed you, so-“  
“That wasn’t a kiss! That was CPR!” Birdie yelped, lifting her head before quickly covering her face with her hands. “Calem, why.”  
The little boy just giggled, jumping from her lap just as Nygus called that visiting hours were over.  
Everyone filtered out, leaving a blushing Grim reaper and a blushing weapon alone. Nygus raised an eyebrow at them before leaving for her office.  
“You didn’t tell me that part of the story,” Kid raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at Birdie, who was drumming her fingers on her lap and not looking at him.  
“Well, um, yeah, I may have excluded that part, I mean, it wasn’t really that important and I, um, it was whatever, y’know-“  
“Birdie, you saved my life. That’s not a whatever sort of thing,” Kid interjected, resting his hand on hers.  
“It’s what anyone would’ve done,” Birdie shrugged, avoiding his gaze.  
“So, why exactly didn’t you tell me, again?” Kid asked, the smallest of half grins appearing on his lips.  
“Because, CPR involves mouth to mouth and well, as Calem said that’s often mistaken for a kiss and I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it but it ended up happening anyway… So I thought it would just be best not to say anything about it, and it all would’ve been dandy but alas, Calem and Heidi must of saw me perform CPR and then he said that and now-“  
“You’re rambling,” Kid smiled.  
“Right,” Birdie sighed, quieting.  
“It’s not a big deal, Birdie. Thank you for saving my life,” Kid squeezed her hands gently.  
Birdie blinked at him, shrugging, “Well, technically, it was my first kiss, but no big deal.”  
“Then, technically, it was mine as well,” Kid smiled.  
Birdie decided that she would like to die at that moment, “Calem, why did you have to say anything.”  
Kid chuckled, patting her hand, “How about this, neither of us will call it our first kiss, since I was pretty much dead and you were doing what you could to save my life. Deal?”  
Birdie offered him a smile, “Deal.”  
They spent the evening in each other’s company, completely relaxed. Birdie began to read her book. Kid, having nothing else to do, would glance over at Birdie as inconspicuously as possible. Her beanie was slightly askew on her head, her clothes rumbled from lying around all day. She was completely absorbed in her book, her lips pursing or forming a grin every once in a while. He remembered her telling him about the loss of her roller blades and decided to surprise her with a new pair in the near future. It wasn’t natural to see Birdie without roller blades somewhere nearby.  
His eyes focused back to her lips, which held the slightest bit of a red tint no matter what. While he had said it was no big deal, he found himself blushing as he imagined Birdie’s lips upon his on that pebbly beach. He shook himself, confused by his feelings. He didn’t even understand the importance of kissing, so why was he reacting like this? Kid decided it must be the painkillers.  
Birdie yawned, glancing at the clock, “It’s only 9:30, but I’m exhausted. You?”  
“Agreed,” Kid nodded, though he wasn’t all that tired.  
Birdie nodded, standing and turning off the light. Kid chuckled as he heard a thud and some choice words leave Birdie’s mouth before the sound of her flopping into bed was made. “Stupid table.”  
“Goodnight, Birdie.”  
“G’night, TK,” Birdie mumbled, quickly falling asleep.  
Kid didn’t sleep for another hour, instead resting his fingers on his lips, his brow creased, as he thought about the warm feeling he felt at the idea of Birdie kissing him.


	14. Chapter 14

“Please! Please! Please! Come see the park we’ll live by!” Calem was hopping on his toes, his eyes sparkling with excitement.  
“You’ll have to take that up with Nygus,” Birdie laughed.  
It was four days since Kid first regained consciousness. The grim reaper was healing exceptionally fast. He no longer needed to wear bandages. Birdie’s hands were still wrapped, but were also healing well. The duo had been confined to the infirmary so they could rest and recover. Nygus hadn’t left room for discussion.  
Calem spun to stare up at the nurse with the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could muster, “Pleaaaaseeee?”  
Even for Nygus, it was hard to say no to a little boy in a T-shirt with a dinosaur on it, a pair of shorts, and light-up sketchers. Especially when that little boy had the biggest smile on his face.  
Nygus sighed, “I was planning on keeping them here for another day, but alright. Kid, no strenuous activities. If I catch you doing any such thing, you’re back in the infirmary. Birdie, take it easy too.”  
“Yes, ma’am,” the meister and weapon said in unison.  
Despite the bandages covering most of the woman’s face, the two saw a smile grace her lips, “Off with you, then.”  
Calem happily led the two out of the DWMA, holding Birdie’s hand and tugging firmly in an attempt to make her walk faster. It would’ve worked far better if she had her usual wheels under her feet, but instead she had converse, lended to her by Maka.  
“Calem! We need to stop by TK and my place before we go anywhere,” Birdie laughed, quickly picking the young child up and throwing him over her shoulder.   
He squealed and kicked his legs playfully, “Why?”  
“Because I want my own clothes on my body,” Birdie grinned.  
Calem wriggled around, monkeying over Birdie’s body until he sat on her shoulders, “Okay!”  
Kid chuckled, looking up at Calem, who, even on Birdie’s shoulders, didn’t rise too far above Kid’s height, “So where is Heidi and Erik?”  
“They had grown up stuff to do and I got bored so Momma had Miss Marie drop me off at the infirmary so we could have fun,” Calem grinned, hands resting on Birdie’s head. Birdie had her hands wrapped around his ankles to keep him from toppling off her shoulders.  
They walked through town towards the manor, Birdie often skipping just to make Calem laugh and giggle as he held on for dear life. Kid smiled as he watched the two, walking slower as to not jar his still healing body, “I hope you two don’t plan to wreak havoc in my manor.”  
Birdie scoffed, turning around to skip backwards and face Kid, “Us? We would never. We are perfect angels.”  
“Yeah! Angels!” Calem giggled.  
Kid chuckled, shaking his head, “I’ll keep you to your word on that.”  
He received two wide grins just as they reached the manor. Kid opened the door, letting Birdie and Calem through before following. A quick glance showed that nothing had been misplaced during their time in the infirmary.  
Birdie dropped Calem down on the couch, laughing as he bounced twice. She turned at smiled at Kid, “You can go and change first.”  
Kid nodded, walking upstairs, shaking his head fondly at the laughs, giggles, and screams behind him. He walked into his room, sitting on his bed for a moment. Birdie had gone back to her usual self since they had decided that their first kisses had not happened. She seemed even more cheerful anytime Calem and his little family stopped by. Calem’s family was always around, ready to hang out and worry over them. Erik and Heidi had worried over them like mother hens. Calem was always excited and ecstatic to see them, a little bundle of infectious happiness. The family had made their time in the infirmary much more bearable.  
Kid shook himself of his thoughts, standing and going to his closet.

Birdie looked up from conspiring with Calem as Kid walked down. He had combed his hair and wore a red shirt underneath a short-sleeved black jacket and jeans. Birdie bit the inside of her cheek, fighting down a blush as she stood. She winked at Calem before jogging up the steps. She laughed when she heard Kid’s startled cry as Calem suddenly pretended to be a dragon, roaring and making fire sound effects.  
She dashed into her room, laughing as she heard Calem roar that he was the great dragon of symmetry. She closed her door, shoulders shaking with laughter. She meandered to her closet, pouting as she debated what to wear on their day off. She shrugged and started pulling stuff off hangers.

“I hoard all the symmetry! For I am a great dragon!” Calem roared, opening his mouth and making a sound as if he was spewing fire.  
Kid raised an eyebrow, “How do you hoard symmetry?”  
“I hoard you!” Calem grinned, flopping across Kid’s lap.  
Kid just laughed.  
“Calem! You did it! You got him to laugh! Achievement!” Birdie cheered, hopping down the stairs.  
“Yay!” Calem jumped up, leaping off the couch and running around the room, flapping his arms like the mighty wings of a dragon.  
Kid smiled, turning to look at Birdie. She wore a large fluffy, light blue sweater that’s collar was wide enough to hang off a shoulder, jean shorts, and the converses she had borrowed. Her hair was neatly placed in her beanie, as always. Kid pursed his lips, standing and walking up to Birdie. He grabbed either side of the collar of her sweater and adjusted it so it was even, symmetrical. “Better.”  
Birdie just playfully rolled her eyes and batted away his hands, walking over the door.  
“Alright, great dragon, let’s go fight knights in the park,” Birdie grinned, opening the door so Calem could dash out, roaring.  
Birdie chuckled, turning to look at Kid, “Come on, some sun will be good for us.”

“Why do you have stripes in your hair?” Calem asked as he sipped from a juice box Birdie had gotten for him.  
They had made it to the park, a field of open, mowed grass with a large playground in the center. A few others were there, children running about. Calem had taken a break to drink juice, sitting in between Kid and Birdie at the green picnic table off to the side.  
Kid looked almost physically ill as he was reminded of his hair, “Well, it’s something I was born with, the lines of sanzu. All grim reapers have them. Unfortunately, they can’t be covered up with hair dye.”  
“Why would you want to cover them up!? They’re so cool!” Calem waved his arms comically.  
“You think so?” Kid raised an eyebrow, a small smile gracing his lips.  
Birdie laughed, “If the symmetry dragon says so then it’s obviously so. The lines in your hair are cool. No ifs, ands, or buts.”  
“Yeah! All hail the symmetry dragon!” Calem grinned, setting his juice box on the picnic table before running off to play with the other kids.  
“Hey, kids!”  
Kid and Birdie turned to see Heidi and Erik walking up.  
“Sup?” Birdie grinned as the two as they sat opposite the meister and weapon at the table.  
“Just got everything settled to move here, movers will be flying our stuff over in the next two days. Want to help us move in?” Heidi smiled, hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing a green tank top and capris.  
“And I just settled my job at the hospital, figured helping out in this city where kids seem to get injured 24/7--” Erik pointedly frowned at Birdie and Kid, who both shrugged, “---would be a splendid idea.” Erik wore a t-shirt and shorts, and looked rather overheated.  
Birdie grinned, “So how’s the heat working for ya?”  
“It’s quite different from the cool breeze of England,” Erik huffed, fanning himself with his hand.  
“And it’s winter right now,” Birdie laughed. “Wait until summer.”  
Erik groaned.  
Heidi chuckled, “It is rather different. I hope Calem hasn’t been any trouble?”  
“Not at all,” Kid smiled.  
Heidi nodded, pleased that her son was behaving, “Would you like to walk with us around the city? We’re going to hunt down all the ice cream shops.”  
“Absolutely, I like ice cream,” Birdie nodded.  
“Calem! Ready to go for a walk?” Heidi called, waving at her son.  
“Yeah!” Calem cheered and sprinted over, flying into his mom’s lap. “Let’s go!”  
They all got up and walked further into the city, heading towards downtown where most of the shops were. Birdie pointed out all of her favorite ice cream places, and was pleasantly surprised when Kid did the same. The five of them ate a lot of ice cream that day, and none of them regretted it at all.

“Alright! You two can decorate! We’ll bring stuff in,” Heidi conceded, holding up her hands in surrender.  
“Yes!” Kid and Birdie cheered, high fiving with both hands for Kid’s sake.  
Heidi shook her head fondly, leaving the bare room to get more boxes.  
Kid began opening boxes and removing the objects within while Birdie scoped out the current room, the living room. In was a large room with off-white blue walls and a wooded floor.  
“Okay, the TV can go there, the couch there, that fancy lamp they have on that end table there…” Birdie murmured to herself, mapping out the design in her mind.  
“I think the table should go there though,” Kid interrupted, pointing to the other side of the couch. “Then the coffee table in front of the couch, and their other lamp on the other side of the couch. That will be more balanced.”  
“But then the lamps will be too close together,” Birdie argued.  
Kid pursed his lips, “We’ll figure it out, for now let’s help them get the couch and TV in here.”  
“Good plan,” Birdie agreed, following Kid outside to where Erik and Heidi were pulling stuff out of the moving truck.  
Heidi and Erik were pulling the aforementioned coffee table off the truck. Heidi’s hair was pulled back in a messy bun, wearing a blue t-shirt, a pair of black jean shorts, and sneakers. Erik was similarly dressed with a green t-shirt, jean shorts, and sneakers. Calem wasn’t present, he was hanging out with Marie on this Saturday, playing board games.  
Kid had healed completely in the last three days, hence why he was able to carry the heavy leather couch inside by himself while Heidi and Erik pulled in the coffee table, Birdie with the end table. Birdie shook her head at her meister, wondering why he couldn’t ever chill. He wore jeans and gray t-shirt. Birdie herself had shorts and a white sleeveless shirt with a red baby dragon gnawing on a gold coin printed on the front, along with her ever-present beanie. Her hands were on their last couple days of being bandaged. It was early morning, the sun’s rays casting long shadows across the neat neighborhood Heidi, Erik, and Calem were moving into.  
Kid set the couch down so it was centered along the left wall of the living room, looking it over to make sure it was indeed centered. Birdie set the end table down to the left of the couch, sliding it flush against the arm of the couch. Heidi and Erik set down the coffee table before going to get more stuff off the truck. Kid and Birdie moved the coffee table so it was aligned with the center of the couch.  
The morning and early afternoon continued the same, Birdie and Kid bringing some stuff in before placing everything where it was always meant to be. The two adults shook their heads at the duo as they brought more and more stuff in. There was a quick lunch break, where they scarfed down sandwiches Birdie had made that morning before getting back to work. By the time they got to the last room, Calem’s, it was early evening.  
Kid huffed, wiping sweat off his brow as he and Birdie finished pushing Calem’s dresser into place. His hair was damp with sweat, his bangs clinging to his forehead.  
“Job well done,” Birdie panted, sitting on the floor with a huge grin on her face.  
The room had light tan walls and a white ceiling. The floor was the same as in the living room, except a plush soft blue rug had been placed in the center of the room. The dresser and bed sat on adjacent walls. The bed had a big blue comforter with super hero logos scattered across the threads. A treasure chest that held all of Calem’s toys sat at the foot of the bed.  
“You two should just become home decorators,” Erik walked in, nodding as he looked around. “I was very impressed with my room.”  
“It’s a talent,” Birdie grinned.  
“Heidi went to get Calem, groceries, and supper, want to watch a movie while we wait for them to get back?” Erik asked, smiling.  
“Absolutely. TK, carry me,” Birdie ordered, flopping onto her back so she was laying spread eagle on the floor.  
“Why?” Kid asked, looking down at his weapon.  
“I don’t wanna walk,” Birdie shrugged.  
Kid sighed. Erik laughed.  
Kid crouched down and lifted Birdie up, tossing her over his shoulder and carrying her down the stairs like a sack of potatoes. Birdie shrugged, admiring his butt. Kid dropped her onto the couch before sitting next to her, shaking his head. She sent a thumbs up his way. Erik sat in the recliner to the right of the couch, grabbing the remote and hunting the channels for something to watch. They began watching Iron Man, having found it just as it began on one of the channels.  
Halfway through the movie, Heidi and Calem returned. Calem ran into the living room, looking around before running through the rest of the house, scoping out everything. They all laughed when they heard Calem shout that his room was epic.  
“I hope you all like pizza, ‘cause that’s what I got,” Heidi announced, dropping three boxes of pizza on the coffee table. “Erik, come help me bring groceries in.”  
Heidi and Erik walked out the door just as Calem ran back in, jumping into the recliner Erik had just been sitting in. Birdie dug into the pizza, almost not bothering to chew. Kid ate his in a more refined manner. Calem followed Birdie’s example. By the time Erik and Heidi sat down, one of the pizzas was gone.  
“Kids. They’re black holes, I swear,” Erik chuckled, lifting Calem up with one arm before sitting back down in his chair, Calem on his lap. Heidi sat next to Kid and Birdie.  
They sat in comfortable silence, eating pizza and watching Iron Man with all the lights turned off. Birdie fell asleep towards the end of the movie, her head lolled to the side, beanie askew on her head. Erik was snoring softly in his chair. Calem giggled every time his uncle snored before being absorbed back into the fight between two men dressed in metal suits. Kid’s gaze kept drifting towards Birdie, his brow gently creased.  
“You should probably get her home,” Heidi chuckled.  
“Yeah, I’m just not keen on waking her up. She’s a little vicious when she’s woken up,” Kid shrugged.  
Heidi laughed, “Sounds like a little boy I know.”  
Calem giggled, “Not me!”  
“Oh I think it is,” Heidi smiled as her son laughed.

Kid smiled, standing and gently shaking Birdie. She grumbled and rolled over, facing away from Kid. The grim reaper sighed, “Fine.”  
He picked the sleeping weapon up, bridal-style, “Mind opening the door for me?”  
Heidi laughed, standing and walking with him to the entry way, “This happen often?’  
“It’s not uncommon. It’s simpler to carry her to her bed rather than getting her to wake up.”  
Heidi nodded, smiling as she opened the door, “Stay safe on your way home.”  
“Thank you, Heidi,” Kid smiled, walking out the door and walking down the steps out of the house.  
Night had fallen across the city, the streetlights casting yellow light onto the streets. Soft light flooded lawns from windows, making the entire world appear soft. Kid was admiring the night sky when Birdie shifted in his arms, a small whine leaving her lips.  
“Birdie?” Kid murmured, his voice breaking the silence of the night.  
The weapon was still asleep, her brow firmly creased. She buried her face in his chest, her hands clenching into fists. Kid summoned his skateboard, knowing he could get back to the manor faster with it rather than on foot. He didn’t know what Birdie was dreaming about, but he figured that it’d be best to get home as soon as possible.

“You killed my pet!” The laughing face screeched.  
Birdie slumped, staring up at it. At least the tentacles were gone. “Well, I’m not really sorry.”  
She had been hoping against the odds that these nightmares wouldn’t continue. She had been wrong.  
“I’ll make you—no! Get out of here! Stop interrupting me!” The laughing face screeched, turning to look to the right of Birdie.  
Birdie spun to look at the newcomer, a boy who she couldn’t make out, his face shadowed. From what she could guess, he was around her age.  
The boy’s lips turned into a frown, and he made a shooing motion with his hand.  
“She is my new play thing!” The laughing face screeched.  
The boy sighed, waving his hand more impatiently.  
The laughing face disappeared with an angry cry.  
“Who are you?” Birdie asked, taking a step back as the guy turned to her, shadows hiding nearly all of his features.  
The bottom of his face was free of shadows, and Birdie saw his lips turn up into a smile before she was sent back down into the bliss of silent sleep.

Afternoon sunlight poured into her room when Birdie finally woke up. She sat up in bed, frowning. She had no idea what her dream was about and wasn’t pleased about it. Grumbling, she made her way downstairs after changing into a sweatshirt and pajama shorts.  
“I’m not leaving the house today,” Birdie announced.  
“Okay, I have to go to the academy, Nygus wants to make sure all my bones truly are healed,” Kid said, not looking up from his book as he sat on the couch.  
“Have fun,” Birdie shrugged, wandering into the kitchen to find some form of sugar.  
“Do you need anything while I’m in town?” Kid asked, walking in behind her.  
“Nah. I’m good,” Birdie answered, chugging a can of soda she pulled from the fridge.  
“I don’t think soda would define a healthy breakfast,” Kid eyed the can, raising an eyebrow.  
Birdie shrugged, “Probably not.” She returned to the living room, laying across the couch.  
“Do attempt to actually eat something other than caffeine. I’ll be back in a while,” Kid waved goodbye as he left the manor, wearing his usual suit.

“Everything has healed fine, I’d almost say your bones are even stronger than they used to be,” Nygus decided. “You’re free to go.”  
“Thank you, Nygus,” Kid tugged his suit jacket back on.  
Nygus nodded, waving goodbye as she went into her office. Kid opened the door to see Heidi leaning against the opposite wall.  
“Walk with me?” Heidi asked.  
Kid blinked, “Alright.”  
The two walked in silence out of the DWMA. It was only when they were walking down the many steps did Heidi speak, “I was talking to Marie this morning, and you and Birdie came up…”  
“What about us?” Kid’s brow creased.  
“She told me that you two have… interesting family situations,” Heidi’s voice was cautious.  
Kid nodded, “I have only my father. I don’t actually have a mother.”  
“What?” Heidi looked at the young man, confusion sketched across her face.  
Kid smiled slightly, “Let’s sit down somewhere to talk.”

“So, how is it you don’t have a mother?” Heidi asked as they sat across from each other outside of a small café.  
“As a grim reaper, my father was able to take a piece of his soul and create me,” Kid shrugged. “So I don’t have a mother.”  
“What was that like?” Heidi asked.  
Kid watched the woman for a moment, debating how to respond. He was surprised with how comfortable he was talking to Heidi, even about such things. He decided to open up to her, “I never saw much of my father. He spent as much time with me as he could, but the DWMA and his other responsibilities took most of his time. Without another parent, I was just watched by different adults, usually DWMA staff members, when I was young. I never really had a chance to play with others my age. It was lonely, but I managed. I’m guessing my OCD developed while I was trying to entertain myself in that large house.”  
“Oh, Kid, I’m so sorry,” Heidi’s eyes were soft, the eyes of a mother when she comforts her child.  
Kid waved his hand dismissingly, “It’s not that great a deal. I managed. As for Birdie… she had it rougher than me. I won’t say too much, for I don’t know how much she wants others to know. She ran away from home, where she lived with her mother. She never said anything about her father. She ended up on the streets, and was taken in by a man named Devor. He was killed in a fight against kishins shortly after I met her.”  
“So she has no family, and you have only your very-busy father,” Heidi clarified.  
Kid nodded, “That would be accurate.”  
Heidi pursed her lips, looking at Kid with her eyes slightly narrowed. The meister began to feel slightly uncomfortable.  
“Alright. It’s official. You two are adopted.”  
“Wait, what?” Kid blinked, eyes wide as he stared at Heidi.  
“I’m adopting you and Birdie,” Heidi smiled. “Without official documentation. But that’s not important.”  
“But… why?” Kid simply wasn’t able to comprehend Heidi’s words.  
“Because everyone, even two very independent teenagers, needs a parental figure. You have one, but yours is busy quite often. So Erik and I will help fill in. We will both be mothers. Honestly, Erik is more motherly than me,” Heidi smiled. “There’s nothing you can say to change it. You and Birdie are officially of my brood. And you two will be coming over for Christmas and family fun nights.”  
A smile broke over Kid’s face, his voice breaking, “Okay.”  
Heidi’s eyes softened, reaching over to rest her hand on Kid’s shoulder, “Erik, Calem, and I are always here for you two. Make sure Birdie knows that too.”  
“Thank you,” Kid murmured, looking down at the table.  
Heidi nodded, withdrawing her hand. They sat in silence for a time as Kid composed himself, his chest alight with emotion.  
“Hey, Heidi, I… what does love feel like?” Kid mumbled, voice barely audible.  
“Love? Well, it depends what kind of love you’re talking about. There’s the love a person can feel towards an object or pet, as well as the love a parent feels for their child and vice versa, and then romantic love. To which do you refer?” Heidi asked.  
“I wouldn’t know… I mean, I’m a grim reaper. I’m not even human. I’m probably not even capable of feeling love,” Kid’s voice broke, his emotions breaking through the mask he usually put up.  
“Oh, Kid. You’re so very human. I can see it all the time. From when you’re laughing at Calem’s antics, to the effort you put into helping us move into our house yesterday, and the way you look at Birdie,” Heidi soothed, bringing her chair closer to Kid’s so she could bring him into a one-armed hug.  
“The way I look at Birdie?” Kid blinked, looking up at Heidi.  
Heidi nodded, rubbing his arm comfortingly, “You look at her the way my husband used to look at me before he died in a car wreck. That look I see you giving her pretty much defines romantic love.”  
“You’re saying I love Birdie,” Kid murmured, his voice soft and eyes wide, as if he just realized the answer to the universe.  
“Yes. Head over heels, I’d say. Completely and absolutely smitten,” Heidi smiled. “You’ve fallen for her without even realizing it. That’s pretty impressive.”  
Kid blushed, looking down at his hands.  
Heidi chuckled, moving her arm from Kid’s shoulders and ducking a little to be at face level with Kid, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell her. I’ll let you do that.”  
“But what if she doesn’t—“  
“You needn’t ask that question. She looks at you the same way you look at her,” Heidi interrupted, waving away his worries. “Where is Birdie, anyway?’  
“At home, she announced that she wasn’t leaving the house today,” Kid answered, his voice far away.  
“You should get home then, tell her that she’s adopted and that both of you will be at my house for Christmas next week,” Heidi ordered, standing up.  
Kid nodded and stood up, “Thank you. For everything.”  
Heidi smiled, pulling Kid into a tight hug, “Be good.”  
Kid chuckled, loosely returning the hug, “Of course.”  
Kid had a small smile on his face as he walked home, stopping by the shoe store to grab his order that he had had Maka place while he was in the infirmary. He had never felt lighter—never felt less pressure on his shoulders. Kid was in love with Birdie, and he couldn’t be happier about it.


	15. Chapter 15

Kid paced his room, his nerves frazzled. It was the day before Christmas, though it never really looked like Christmas in Nevada. There was rarely ever snow. This year was no exception; not a single snowflake had fallen to the ground in the past few months.  
A pair of rollerblades sat on Kid’s bed, shining in the afternoon sunlight that slipped through his window. Kid put the rollerblades under his bed, hiding them away from any prying eyes before going downstairs. The grim reaper wore a plain white button-up long sleeve and a pair of black slacks. He rubbed each of his skull rings with his thumbs, a nervous gesture that nearly no one ever noticed.  
Kid had done his best to make sure Birdie didn’t sense anything odd going on in the last week, but even then, he figured she knew something was up. Be it by the way his cheeks dusted with pink whenever she was around, or the eyebrow raises Heidi would give him when they ran into each other. But Birdie had never questioned him, so he didn’t say anything.  
Until today, that is.  
“Wow, I’m actually downstairs before you. I’m impressed,” Birdie grinned, lying across the couch. The weapon wore a large gray, knitted sweater that went to her midthigh. It was impossible to tell if she had shorts on or not. “What’s your plan for this Christmas Eve?”  
“Actually, I’d like you to join me on the roof for stargazing tonight,” Kid said, pushing Birdie’s legs off the couch so he could sit down.  
“Stargazing? Alright,” Birdie smiled.  
Kid returned her smile, hiding his relief that she didn’t question him further.  
A knock resounded on the door, a very loud knock. Both Birdie and Kid jerked slightly, startled. Birdie hopped up, meandering over to the door and throwing it open. Blackstar tumbled in, having been prepared to knock down the door. The rest of the academy group stood on the steps.  
“Hi,” Birdie greeted, raising an eyebrow.  
“We know you’ll be with Calem’s family tomorrow so we thought we’d have a little Christmas here with all our friends,” Maka explained, answering the unasked question.  
“Did you bring food?” Birdie asked.  
Tsubaki and Soul held up several Tupperware bowls, all filled with some sort of food. Birdie grinned, waving everyone in. Blackstar hopped to his feet, having been dazed from whacking his head on the floor when he tumbled in. Kid was glad for the distraction before night fell.  
They spent the afternoon in the large dining room, although they all sat in a circle on the floor near the wall. Birdie had taken a bowl full of sugar cookies for herself, sometimes sharing them with Crona and Ragnorak, who sat to one side of her. The sugar cookies were in the shape of and decorated as snowmen and Christmas ornaments. There wasn’t a great exchange of gifts, except Crona. Crona had gotten something for everyone, and handed out the neatly wrapped presents happily.  
Everyone cheerfully opened their presents. Tsubaki received a thick bracelet decorated with overlapping red leather camellia flowers. She smiled softly, slipping it onto her wrist. Blackstar got a large, metal golden star with a “1” engraved into the center that hung from a thick golden chain. He proudly looped it over his head, the star settling against the bottom of his ribs. Kid had to push down tears as he opened his gift, a knitted cloth with two symmetrical twin pistols on it. Soul grinned at Crona as he opened his present to find a thick black headband with a large silver piano pin and a soul pin stuck to one side. He cheerfully put it on, having not worn a headband that day. Maka smiled at the scrapbook with a silver cover, on the cover a picture of Maka and Crona was pasted. It was a picture Soul had taken a long while ago. She held it to her chest, a huge smile on her face. Birdie opened her present last, and broke into a smile that everyone worried she’d break her face in half. Crona had gifted her with a new beanie, this one black in color. On the side of the beanie, eight white bird silhouettes flew up. Inside the hem of the hat, a note was stitched in white thread. It read, “Let’s Fly to Happiness Together.”  
Crona smiled, rubbing their arm nervously, “Everyone has a quote on their gift; it says, ‘Let’s Fly to Happiness Together’.”  
Birdie leaned over and pulled Crona into a hug, “You’re the best.”  
Everyone joined in the hug, even if Maka and Birdie had to drag a reluctant Kid into it. Ragnorak was eternally grumpy about the touchy-feely stuff.  
Crona was a blushing mess by the time everyone returned to their spot in the circle, “I just wanted to thank everyone for being my friend since I got to the academy… That’s all.”  
Birdie ruffled their hair before she stood, “I’ll be right back, I’m gonna put this beanie on.” She jogged out of the room, her steps heard as she hopped up the stairs.  
“So, Kid, when are you going to tell Birdie?” Soul asked, a grin creeping onto his face.  
Kid raised an eyebrow, feigning ignorance, “What are you talking about?”  
“When are you going to tell Birdie you love her?” Soul prodded.  
“Whenever you tell Maka the same,” Kid’s lips twisted into a smirk as both Soul and Maka turned red.  
Blackstar nearly fell over laughing. Birdie walked in, raising an eyebrow at the scene. She looked at Kid, an unspoken question in her eyes. He just shrugged. The weapon accepted the shrug as an acceptable answer, flopping down between Kid and Crona. “The beanie fits perfectly, thank you.”  
Crona blushed, smiling softly.   
The afternoon was spent in joyful camaraderie. Blackstar got kicked in the face by Kid several times for wrecking the symmetry of the manner, Birdie ate half the sugar cookies that had been brought, and Maka hit Soul with a book at least three times. As the sun began to set, Birdie and Tsubaki put a plan into motion. The two weapons snuck out of the room, noticed only by Kid, who raised an eyebrow but didn’t pry further. Birdie ran outside, finding an adequately long stick before returning to Tsubaki, who was in the kitchen with a bundle of mistletoe. They tied the two together, sneaking back over to the large reception room. They hid behind the doorway, waiting for the next piece of their plan to arrive.  
Kid released a surprised huff as he was grabbed by the wrist and spun out of the room, meeting Birdie’s sparkling silver eyes as she held a finger over her lips. “We’re gonna get Soul and Maka to kiss. But we need your help. Tsubaki is going to distract the two while you and I, me on your shoulders, sneak up behind them and hold the mistletoe over them,” Birdie explained, her voice just above a whisper.  
“Why are we doing this, again?” Kid asked, neither accepting nor denying the request.  
“Because it’s long awaited for those two to kiss so,” Birdie shrugged, gently bonking his head with the stick. “Mighty steed, let me climb onto your shoulders.”  
Kid just barely rolled his eyes and turned on his heel, crouching down so Birdie could climb onto his shoulders. She rested a hand on top of his head to steady herself as he stood, his hands coming to rest on her knees. Birdie motioned with her long stick, which could very well pass for a staff, for Tsubaki to get moving. The weapon nodded, walking back into the reception room and creating conversation with Soul and Maka.  
Kid walked closer to the doorway, allowing Birdie to peak in. “Coast is clear! Let’s go.”  
Kid sighed, shaking his head as he walked into the room, his steps quiet. Tsubaki didn’t spare them a glance, even though she was facing them. Soul and Maka stood in front of her, backs turned to him. Crona and Blackstar noticed the duo, but once they saw the mistletoe, they went back to what they were doing, albeit with grins on their faces.  
Once close enough, Birdie swung the stick so the mistletoe hung directly over Soul and Maka. Soul noticed it first, looking up at it before shooting a fiery glare in Birdie and Kid’s direction. Maka noticed then, her lips pursing as she glowered at Birdie, who she knew was the real mastermind here. Birdie shrugged, not sorry in the least.  
Soul huffed, crossing his arms and tapping his foot on the floor, “You’re a real matchmaker, Bird.”  
Before Birdie could get a remark in, Soul cupped Maka’s face in his hands and ducked down to place a gentle kiss on her lips, both of them redder than Spirit’s hair. Birdie whooped, throwing up her arms in victory. Due to the sudden movement, Kid stumbled back, failing to keep his balance and falling over. The mistletoe went flying as Birdie went sliding over the smooth linoleum floor, laughing despite the pain from falling onto the hard ground. Kid groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. He looked down at Birdie, who had slid a few feet away from him. She was shaking with laughter, hugging her sides. Kid smiled, shaking his head, “I blame that on you.”   
She just sent a thumbs up his way.  
The small party continued, Birdie keeping tight reins on the mistletoe stick so it couldn’t be used in revenge against her. Soul and Maka were a blushing mess for the next hour everyone was there. As the moon climbed higher in the sky, Kid easily led his friends out of the manor, bidding them goodnight, leaving just Birdie and him inside. He turned around to see Birdie climbing the stairs, she looked down briefly and smiled, “I’ll meet you on the roof in a moment-- I’m going to put leggings on.”  
Kid nodded, following after her to go into his own room. He pulled the rollerblades out from under his bed. He gripped them tightly with one hand, sliding out the window and up to the roof with only one hand. He stood on the slightly slanted roof, looking in the direction of Birdie’s room as he waited, rollerblades hidden behind his back. He watched as she pulled herself onto the roof, walking up to him. She had put black leggings on, probably to keep her warmer on the rather cool night.  
“So, why stargazing tonight?” Birdie asked, glancing down at how his hands were behind his back.  
Kid just smiled, “It’s clear tonight, and the day before Christmas, so why not? I have a present for you. Mind closing your eyes?”  
Birdie raised an eyebrow at him, yet did as he requested. With one hand, Kid lifted hers so he could gently set the rollerblades into her outstretched hands. He didn’t move his own, worried that the rollerblades would go tumbling off. Birdie’s brow was creased, suspicion evident.   
“You can open them now,” Kid murmured, his voice so soft that she almost missed it.  
Silver eyes looked down at the gleaming black rollerblades with white decals of tree branches wrapping around them. On one of the branches was the silhouette of a song bird. The buckles were in the shape of the Death skull. The wheels were black with an inner ring of white. Birdie simply stared at them long enough that Kid was beginning to worry.  
His worry was for naught as a huge grin split Birdie’s face, “Thank you so much!”  
She instantly dropped down so she was sitting and began pulling them on, grinning from ear to ear.  
Kid smiled, “It was just wrong that you didn’t have rollerblades.”  
The rollerblades on, Birdie stood up and started to glide around the roof, circling around Kid, “Whoever made these are very good at making rollerblades. It’s so smooth.”  
“Birdie,” Kid murmured, catching her wrist and gently spinning her so she was in front of and facing him.  
The weapon looked up, startled by how warm his honey gaze was.  
“I don’t know how you did it, but somehow you snuck into and wedged yourself so deeply into my life that I can’t imagine how I could go through a day without your grin or your wildly stubborn and hot-headed attitude. I do believe you understand me better than anyone, maybe more than I do myself. You were the one to pull me out of my grief after Liz and Patty’s deaths… something I will be ever grateful for,” Kid closed his eyes, breathing out a sigh. When he opened his eyes again, a smile graced his lips. “You’re a puzzle that I don’t think I’ll ever solve, but I’ve realized that’s alright. I can guess what you’ll say or how you’ll react in a certain situation, and be right nine times out of ten. I know your souls like my own, but the one thing, the one puzzle piece I can never fit, is how you managed to make me feel this way long before I even realized what I was feeling.”  
Birdie watched him, her eyes searching for what he meant. His hand was still holding her wrist, “What feeling?”  
Kid smiled, something flashing in his eyes. He placed his hand gently under her chin, lifting it just slightly before placing his palm against her cheek. “Birdie, I-“  
An explosion hit both of their ears, and a moment later a gust of air knocked them sideways. They both spun in the direction of the noise, staring at the black smoke that rose from an entire neighborhood, fire licking at trees and houses. Another explosion soon hit the same neighborhood. Kid caught sight of a figure sitting on a broom, silhouetted by the clear night sky. It was by far one of the strongest witch souls he had ever seen. It flared purple and magenta, hand-like wavelengths rose above it, the fingers twisted in black string. The fingers were in constant motion, as if moving a puppet. He saw the witch throw something, and an explosion soon followed. Then the witch bolted, disappearing before he could even think of chasing it.  
“That’s… Heidi’s neighborhood,” Birdie whispered, fear running through her veins.  
Kid nodded, summoning his skateboard as worry and terror hummed in his soul, “Let’s go.”

Kid and Birdie sped through the neighborhood, having only one destination in mind. Lord Death had already sent out Academy staff and students alike to work through the crisis. Screams and cries echoed through the air, accompanied by the bursting wood of houses as fire tore through them and the spray of water as firefighters worked to quell the consuming fire. Parents were digging through the rubble of the impact sites, crying for their children. Birdie forced herself to look away as she saw a woman cradling her dead daughter, sobs racking her body. Kid brushed his hand against Birdie’s in comfort, but it did little to ease her strife.  
“MOMMA! MOMMA!”  
Birdie’s heart froze, knowing that voice all too well. She sped up, kicking to get moving faster on her rollerblades. She skidded to a halt as soon as she reached Calem. He had ash smears over his face and clothes, a small cut had scabbed over on his forehead. He saw her and began sobbing, begging for his mother. Birdie crouched down and picked him up, running a hand through his hair as he sobbed into her shoulder. She looked at Kid, eyes wide as they reflected the burning house to her side. The house that they had helped decorate.  
“Stay here with Calem, I’ll go find them,” Kid ordered, kicking up his skateboard and dismissing it.  
“Be careful,” Birdie murmured, pressing her cheek against the top of Calem’s head, who was whimpering ‘momma’ repeatedly. Tears began to form in Birdie’s eyes. She desperately held them back.  
“I’m a grim reaper, the fire will be hard pressed to actually hurt me,” Kid assured before he ran towards the house.  
He quickly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, covering his mouth and nose before further approaching the house. The entryway had collapsed, smoldering bars of wood covered the steps. To the side, he saw a crumbled wall, having been hit by a street sign that had gone flying in the explosion. Kid ducked in, his eyes watering from the smoke. He looked around, searching for any signs of movement. He walked towards where the entryway had been.  
Despite the heat, his blood ran cold. Erik’s corpse lay under the collapsed ceiling of the entryway, his mouth opened in a silenced scream. His eyes were still open. Kid gritted his teeth, tearing his eyes away from the once jovial man, hoping against the odds that Heidi was in here somewhere, alive. He searched through the first floor, checking quickly and evading the fires. He sprinted upstairs, which were for now free of flame. He searched each room, and walked into Calem’s last.  
There he found Heidi, leaning against the wall. She was clutching her side, her eyes hazy.  
“Heidi!”  
The woman looked over, a weak smile forming on her face as tears fell down her cheek, “Kid. I wish you hadn’t found me until I passed.”  
“What are you talking about?” Kid ran up to her, crouching beside her. “You’re alive, we can get you out of here.”  
“No, you can’t, Kid,” Heidi coughed, moving her hands from her sides, revealing a large wound that dug straight into her stomach. “It was the stupidest thing, too. I was… dicing some vegetables up for tomorrow’s… dinner, y’know? And then the first explosion hit… and I fell over and stabbed myself with the knife… The stupidest thing. I saw Erik and Calem get out, and with that I was happy… so I… I came up here. Are Erik and Calem safe? Birdie too?”  
Kid bit his lip, Erik’s corpse flashing in his memory, “Yes, they’re all safe.”  
Heidi smiled, “I love you guys. Tell them that, okay?” A cough wracked her body. “Tell… tell Calem to be good, listen to you guys… tell him his mother loves him…”  
With a final spasm, Heidi’s soul lifted from her body. Kid brushed it gently with his fingers, feeling the warmth and care radiating from it. He slid his hand under the bright blue orb, gently pushing it upwards. It rose several feet before it disappeared, going to wherever the passed on souls go.  
Kid stared at Heidi’s corpse, his breath ragged. In his soul, a dark spot was filled with black anger, a stark contrast against the easy blue of all good souls. Kid stood, summoning his skateboard before he flew from the window, the moonlight reflecting the fire in his eyes.  
Birdie watched the house, waiting for Kid to reappear with Heidi and Erik. Her heart dropped to her feet when Kid dropped down from the second story on his skateboard five minutes later, alone. He was covered in ash and had a handkerchief pressed to his mouth. He tossed it behind him once he was out, leaving it to be consumed by the fire. He walked up to Birdie, anger seething in his eyes, hotter than the fire around them.  
“They’re gone,” Kid forced out, his teeth clenched.  
“As in missing or-“  
“They’re dead,” Kid interrupted, glaring up at the sky. “It was a witch who did this. We need to go after her.”  
“You can’t be serious. Calem need us. We need to stay here,” Birdie argued, arms tightening around Calem, who began crying harder. Her tears fell with his, silent.  
“That witch had her soul protect off. There’s still a chance I can track it but only if we go now,” Kid was pacing.   
Birdie felt something shifting his soul. Tentatively, she reached out, not asking for resonance, just reaching out. Kid refused her as soon as she brushed his soul with her own, but that didn’t stop her from feeling the anger coursing through him, completely filling a part of his soul. “TK, you need to calm down.”  
“They’re dead, Birdie! Do you not care?” Kid turned on her, eyes bright.  
Birdie flinched back, “Of course I care. Which is the reason I want to stay. Calem just lost his family. He needs us.”  
“Marie can watch him,” Kid’s voice was calmer now, but anger still burned in his eyes.  
“He needs us,” Birdie argued, her voice breaking as she held onto Calem tighter.  
“He needs to know that the witch who killed his family is dead,” Kid shot back.  
“That’s what you need to know, not him,” Birdie mumbled. Calem had quieted down in her arms, his face buried into her knitted sweater. He hiccupped every now and then, clinging to Birdie like a lifeline.  
Kid narrowed his eyes, scowling at his weapon, “We can’t leave this witch to roam. They’ll just destroy more homes, more families. Calem won’t be the last one orphaned. We need to go find that witch and kill her.”  
“Why can’t someone else do it? A Death Scythe and a three star meister. Why does it have to be us?” Birdie asked, searching his eyes for the warm honey that she had seen less than an hour ago. All she saw was a golden fire that fed on anger.  
“You know damn well why,” Kid answered, summoning his skateboard. “I’m going, whether you come with or not.”  
Birdie stared at her meister in disbelief, barely recognizing him. The anger in his soul had grown, and she knew that he wasn’t going to be reasoned with. She also knew that he would get himself killed if she didn’t go with him.  
“Birdie…” Calem’s voice was soft, barely even a whisper. “It’s okay. I’ll stay with Marie.”  
“Calem-“  
Calem pushed away from Birdie, wriggling down. Tears stained his ash-smeared face, leaving prominent trails from his eyes to his jaw. His eyes were filled with pain, and something that he should never have experienced so young. Birdie kneeled down, running a thumb over his cheek, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Go over to the park, okay? That’s where you’ll find someone from the Academy. Just ask for Marie.”  
Calem nodded, tears building up in his eyes again. Birdie pressed a kiss to his forehead before pulling him into a tight hug, “Be safe for me, Cal.”  
“I love you,” Calem whimpered, wrapping his small arms around Birdie’s torso.  
“I love you too,” Birdie choked out, slowly pulling away from the embrace as she stood.  
Calem looked up at her, before nodding and running for the park. Birdie turned to see Kid hovering a foot in the air on his skateboard. While anger still smoldered in his eyes, his voice was soft as he held out his hand, “Let’s go, Birdie. We’ll stop by the manor to change.”  
Birdie bit her lip, grabbing his hand. He hauled her up and rose in the air. Birdie looked down at the easing fires, systematically being put out by the firefighters. People sat on the streets, sobbing and screaming for loved ones. The academy was running around, saving as many as they could. It wasn’t the image of Death City she wanted in her head. But it was what she got.  
Her only relief was seeing Calem run into Maka’s arms, having found her on his way to the park.


	16. Chapter 16

Birdie leaned against the brick wall of a shop, waiting outside for her meister to come back with breakfast. They had flown through the night, passing into the Rocky Mountains. If she had to guess, they were somewhere in Montana. Snow fell loosely from the sky, blanketing the houses, streets, and people in powdery white. At least it looked like Christmas here. The weapon looked down at her hands, bare despite the cold. They had healed from the burns, but red lines marred her palms and fingers. Cupped in one hand were two mostly flat stones, tied together by a thick black string. The stones appeared black, but when the light hit them just right, they turned a deep sea blue. A dip, the perfect length and width for a thumb, dug smoothly into the center of each stone. She ran her thumb over the dip of one the stones, sighing. The worry stones were her Christmas present to Kid, but it hardly seemed like the right time to give them to him.  
“Some Christmas,” she grumbled to herself, shoving the worry stone necklace into the pocket of her mahogany leather jacket, tossed over her turtleneck to fight back the cold. Rather than shorts, she wore gray leggings, the ends safely tucked into her rollerblades. She’d skate through snow, she didn’t care.  
Birdie adjusted her beanie, pulling it down over her ears. She glanced at the door of the shop, waiting for Kid to appear. Frustration bubbled up in her chest. They had left as soon as they had gotten dressed, Birdie grabbing Kid’s present just before she left her room. They had flown through the night, Kid’s gaze set upon his unseen destination. Birdie had been too wound up to even think about being tired, but now, exhaustion pulled at her body and mind. She pushed the exhaustion away, instead focusing on her frustration at her meister. She was actually angry with him. She’d fought it down, but now, with exhaustion pulling her fuse as short as could be, she was pissed.  
She wanted to be back at Death City, hugging Calem and making sure he was okay. She wanted to be back in the manor, Kid giving her his signature little smile he always gave her. The smile that made her heart melt. She wanted to be back on the roof, with Kid just about to tell her something, his eyes melted honey, before the witch had blown up the neighborhood. She wanted her TK back. Not this anger-consumed, grumpy grim reaper she was dealing with now.  
“A chocolate muffin suffice?”  
She looked up from her musings. Kid stood before her, hand outstretched holding a large chocolate muffin. He was biting into his own blueberry one. He was dressed as he usually was, in his usual suit, but he had an ivory coat over his suit jacket. His eyes almost looked like normal, except for the anger smoldering behind the cool façade. Dipping her head in a quick nod, she took the muffin and bit into it, savoring the sweet taste as she attempted to drown out how cold her meister’s eyes looked. Certainly colder than it was outside.  
“I feel a strong presence of evil in this area, we should ask around, the witch might be close,” Kid informed.  
“Sure,” Birdie shrugged.  
Kid nodded, “Split up and ask around, I’ll take the north side of town, you can take the south.”  
With that, he walked away. Scoffing, Birdie spun on a wheel, rolling off to the south side of town.

“Well, actually, there is a rather big problem afoot just about a mile away,” the man pondered. “But I don’t understand why you’re asking.”  
“I’m from the DWMA. We heard that there was something amiss here, and my partner, who is currently asking others, and I were sent to handle the matter,” Kid informed, pushing his hands into his pockets.  
“Oh! Well, color me surprised. There’s a beast a few miles from here. Real terrifying, we haven’t gotten a close look at it, but it’s got a mane of glowing blue light. Huge, too.” The man explained, crossing his arms with a shudder. “It’s been prowling around here, attacking people who leave the town. We’re all scared it’s going to come into town.”  
Kid nodded, “We’ll take care of it before it comes to that. Do you have any idea where this beast came from?”  
“No clue, it just showed up one day,” the man shrugged.  
“Thank you for the information, we’ll take care of this as soon as possible,” Kid assured.  
“I’ll spread word that the DWMA is here to take care of the problem, ask anyone if you need something. We’ll be glad to help,” the man grinned, then he walked into a shop, waving his arm to get the customers’ attention.  
Kid turned, off to find his weapon. Maybe this beast was connected to the witch. That would be lucky.

Birdie wandered down the streets, not really intent on actually gaining intelligence. She just wasn’t feeling up to talking to people. She feared she might punch someone to vent her frustration if the wrong words were said.  
“Birdie!”  
Birdie stopped, turning to see Kid jogging up to her.  
“There’s a beast a few miles from here, it may be connected to the witch, but either way, it’s endangering the people,” Kid told her.  
“Oh, you’re worried about other people now?” Birdie asked before she could bite the snide comment back.  
Kid frowned at her, “What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“I mean, you didn’t seem all that concerned about the people in Death City, so it’s a pleasant surprise to see you worried about these townspeople,” Birdie crossed her arms.  
“We left Death City to kill this witch so it wouldn’t hurt others,” Kid countered, mirroring Birdie’s position.  
“Really? Because I’m pretty sure the only reason we’re out here instead of helping Death City recover from the attack is because YOU want to avenge Erik and Heidi,” Birdie challenged. “And if we were doing anything sane right now, it’d be in Death City, helping Calem through the grief of losing his family. But instead, here we are. So let’s go and take care of this beast and save the town.”  
Kid bit his tongue, pushing down the retort he had planned, “Let’s go.”  
The grim reaper summoned his skateboard, back turned to Birdie as she climbed on, her fingers barely grazing his shoulder to hold on as they rose into the air.

It had taken two hours of searching, but they had finally found the beast. Kid and Birdie stood atop a ledge, looking down at the prowling thing.  
“What even is that?” Birdie grumbled, more to herself than her meister.  
“Whatever it is, it doesn’t have a soul,” Kid mused, brows furrowed as he watched the beast.  
The beast was huge, at least six feet tall without its mane. With it, it was ten feet tall. The thick mane and the tip of its tail were made of blue strings of light, all too familiar from the apartment building. Gray armor nearly covered the entirety of its muscled and lithe body. Ivory chest plates ran from its jaw to the tip of its tail, protecting its neck, chest and stomach from attacks. Its face was akin to the shape of a cat’s, everything other than its narrow red eyes covered in gray armor. Its two front legs the color of pine needles ended in razor sharp talons, much like a bird of prey’s. Its hind legs were like a lion’s, and equally as golden.  
“So how do you plan to kill that thing, hm?” Birdie asked, eyes scanning for any weak points in the armor. She didn’t see any.  
“We’ll shoot it full of bolts, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll blow it up with soul resonance,” Kid shrugged, thinking it was obvious.  
Birdie shrugged and glowed silver, dropping into Kid’s hands as two crossbows, only to gasp as fire burned through her being. Kid dropped the crossbows, hands steaming. The weapon changed back to human form, sitting down on a rock that wasn’t covered in snow. It felt like her body had just been tossed into lava.  
“What the fuck?” Birdie hissed.  
“We can’t resonate,” Kid blinked, letting the fact slowly sink in.  
“Oh, well, that’s grand. You’re so pissy now that we can’t even resonate properly,” Birdie threw up her hands, forgetting there was a dangerous creature nearby, “How do you expect to take on a witch when we can’t even resonate!?”  
“Oh so this is my fault now?” Kid growled, glaring daggers at her.  
“Yeah! It is! If you weren’t so full of vengeance we wouldn’t be in this stupid-“  
A growl interrupted the argument and the two turned to stare at the armored beast, which was just a few meters away from them, crouched low to pounce on them. Kid and Birdie dived apart as the chimera pounced, spraying snow as it landed where the duo just were. Birdie went tumbling down the side of the mountain, catching herself on a rock before she went off a cliff. Kid scrambled to his feet, facing off with the giant chimera. Kid felt panic rising, beginning to have flashbacks to a fight long ago. Then anger filled his mind and soul, and he snapped back into focus, diving away from the chimera’s sweeping claws. He narrowly dodged the swaying strings of light. The grim reaper failed to dodge its thick tail as the chimera spun, the armored appendage slamming into Kid’s stomach. He went flying, crashing into a large boulder.  
The chimera began stalking forward, prepared for the kill when a bolt ricocheted off of its shoulder plate. It rose from its crouch, looking down at Birdie, a transparent crossbow in her hand. She shot again, this one hitting the chimera’s cheek plate. The chimera growled, the sound metallic. It turned and lunged for her, barreling straight towards the much smaller girl. Birdie dived out of the way at the last moment, planning for the chimera to go flying off the cliff. She hadn’t prepared for its reflexes. The chimera dug its front claws into the snow, spinning around and narrowly avoiding the cliff. Birdie rolled to her feet, shooting bolt after bolt as exhaustion pulled at her. The chimera growled, shaking its head as bolts hit it. Its mane flared brighter, the strings straightening to look longer and larger. Birdie dived backwards as the strings shot forward, near centimeters from Birdie’s chest.  
Kid groaned, pulling himself to his feet. His hand went over his abdomen, briefly wondering if he was internally bleeding. He looked down to see Birdie leaping away as the chimera chased her, swinging its sharp talons and lashing out with its mane. She shot bolts as she leaped, staying near the cliff. Kid skidded down the slope to where Birdie and the chimera were fighting. Without sparing him a glance, Birdie shouted, “Shove it off the cliff! I don’t care how!”  
Kid nodded, summoning Beelzebub. Jumping atop the hovering skateboard, he shot forward, tilting so the board was perpendicular with the ground just before he slammed into the chimera’s side. The chimera let loose a startled cry as it stumbled from the hit, flying off the cliff. Kid caught himself, hovering as the chimera fell.  
And fell.  
And fell.  
It hit the bottom of the valley with a crack, armor breaking off of its bloody and flattened body. Kid looked away, not needing any more proof that it was dead. He landed back on the mountain, his skateboard disappearing as he frowned at Birdie, “Good job alerting it.”  
“You know what, fuck off,” Birdie growled, letting her crossbow disappear as her frustration boiled to the surface. “I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t want to come with on this stupid vendetta mission. I only came because I didn’t want you to run yourself into the ground and die as you try to catch a witch that you’ve never even encountered before. And now we can’t even resonate because you’re so driven on anger. And now here we are, on a mountain, having just fought a bloody monster, on Christmas! Who the fuck fights monsters on Christmas!?”  
“The DWMA does what is-“  
“No. Don’t you give me the DWMA spiel. We’re not here for the DWMA and you know it. We’re here for you. For your vengeance. I thought this was going to be a great Christmas. But no! This Christmas is worse than the one when I was on the streets,” Birdie growled.. “We should be back at the manor right now, drinking hot chocolate with Calem. Giving each other presents and shit.”  
Birdie grabbed the worry stones from her pocket throwing them at Kid with all the strength she could muster. He barely managed to catch the little thrown missile. “Since I didn’t have time to properly wrap it. Here you go! Merry fucking Christmas and you’re welcome.”  
Birdie spun around, finding a rocky path as she rolled and climbed down the mountain. Kid just looked down at the stones held in his hands, his weapon’s words digging into his mind.

Birdie decided she had made a mistake.  
She was completely lost in the mountains, freezing, and had absolutely no idea where any civilization might be. She kept stomping straight ahead, hoping to find a town, any town. She briefly wondered if Kid was looking for her, but decided that he probably wasn’t. She did kind of explode on him. She wouldn’t be surprised if he avoided her for a week or so.  
Grumbling, she shoved her hands in her pockets and trudged on, fighting back the exhaustion creeping through her body. She had found a valley to walk through, and was searching for a road. Roads tended to be around valleys. Towns tended to be around valleys.  
The afternoon continued passing on as Birdie trudged through the snow, finally having a town in sight. She rounded a shop, stepping onto the sidewalk. Her body said just collapse and go to bed. Her mind said that that would be a very bad idea and she should find a hotel.  
She rolled down the plowed sidewalks, her destination a little hotel a couple blocks away.  
Walking in, she saw the clerk behind the desk raise his eyebrow her way.  
“What’s a young lady like you doing here on Christmas day?” The young man asked, his brown hair combed neatly.  
“Having a fuckfest of a day, really,” Birdie shrugged. “I need a hotel room, place the charge to the DWMA.”  
“An academy student? I’ll need to see your ID,” the clerk explained, holding out his hand.  
Birdie pulled the card from the inner pocket of her jacket, holding it out for the clerk to look at. The clerk nodded, tapping away at his keyboard, “What kind of room would you like? And how long will you be staying?”  
“A single is fine, and I don’t know for how long,” Birdie answered.  
“Alright, I’ll just put for a night then,” the clerk smiled and handed her a key card. “You’re room is 221. If there’s anything you need, just call the front desk.”  
“Thank you,” Birdie offered a tight smile back, really just done with the day, and walked up the steps, finding her room at the end of the hall.  
Walking in after a slide of her key card, she found a simple yet cozy room. The walls were light blue with a deep blue carpet. The bathroom was to her left, she spotted both a shower and Jacuzzi within the large bathroom. Figures, the clerk would give her a suite without her even asking for one. Shrugging, she delved deeper into the room. The bed was next to a wall, the blanket a blue similar to the carpet. The sheets were white while the pillows were a set of blue and ivory. A simple end table with a lamp and alarm clock sat next to the bed. At the opposite corner was a recliner the color of a summer sky with darker diamond designs across it. A desk was in the corner across from the door, a binder with hotel stuff in it sitting atop it. A large mirror hung in the center of the wall, the frame silver.  
Birdie shed her coat and tossed it on the bed, kicking off her rollerblades and trotting into the bathroom. She ran the Jacuzzi, letting it fill while she undressed. She set her clothes out to dry on the counter, letting her lilac hair fall over her shoulders as she took her beanie off.  
She sunk into the hot water, nearly moaning at the warmth hitting her sore body compared to the cold outside. As she soaked in the Jacuzzi, her thoughts drifted to Kid. Maybe she was a little hard on him today. Then again, he had forced her away from a mourning Calem. She thought of them on the roof, heart fluttering as she thought of what he might’ve told her. His eyes had been so warm and open. Birdie sighed, watching as the water bubbled around her. She knew she had feelings for Kid, by the way his smiles made her heart flutter, by how every touch his fingers left upon her skin left a warm trail to warm her entire body, by how being in his presence had always made her feel okay.  
But Kid was a grim reaper, and had better things to do in his life than having feelings for a street kid like her. So she doubted. She pushed away the hope that maybe Kid did have feelings for her, because really, why would he. She was just Birdie, a weapon that had two souls. That was the only thing special about her, right? And even if Kid did have feelings for her, nothing could be done about it now. The only thing he was capable of feeling was anger. Shaking her head, she sunk further into the water, trying to let the steam take away her feelings.

An hour later, Birdie finally pulled herself from the water, drying off with a fluffy towel before wrapping herself in a similarly fluffy bathrobe. She felt her clothes, they were still wet from all the snow. She walked out of the bathroom, digging in her jacket pocket for a ponytail. Finding one, she tied her hair up in the messiest bun known to man before calling the front desk to see if they had a dry-cleaning service. Finding that to be accurate, she asked for someone to come up and take her clothes to wash them.  
Birdie sat on the bed, bundle of clothes in her arms, as she waited for the knock on her door. She opened it to find the same clerk from the desk. He briefly glanced down her body, evidently surprised to see her only in a bathrobe before focusing on her face, “I’ll take your clothes to wash.”  
“Aren’t you supposed to stay at the desk?” Birdie asked, tilting her head.  
“I’m one of the very few working this late in the afternoon, so I run around a lot. How is the room?” The clerk asked, taking the clothes from Birdie.  
“Lovely, the Jacuzzi is very nice,” Birdie smiled.  
“I’m glad it’s adequate! I’ll get your clothes washed then,” The clerk smiled, and departed, disappearing down the hall.  
Birdie closed her door, mission completed. Deciding to call it a night, she turned off the lights and burrowed into the bed, deciding to hide away from the world for a few hours.  
It may have been the worst Christmas of her life, but the hotel bed was soft and warm, and the restful sleep she found herself in made up for at least part of it.  
Little did she know, but Kid was in the same town, looking for her, as he held the worry stones in his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let there be angst. Sorry for the belated chapter, but it's just in time for Christmas! And it's a Christmas chapter. I'm good at planning things.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made edits to the last chapter so if you read the last chapter before this chapter was put up I would suggest going back and skimming through. I didn't change too much, just took some things out and edited word choice is all. Also, I apologize for the delay. Bad Sayevtsye.

Birdie yawned as she walked down to the first floor, planning to get the breakfast the hotel offered. She was fully dressed, her clothes having been dropped off at her door that morning. The clerk from last night was no longer at the front desk, instead it was an older man that was helping a family check out. The weapon strode into the dining area, collecting a cup of apple juice and a plate of french toast before taking her breakfast up to her room. She was halfway up the stairs when the front door opened and Kid walked in, looking directly at her. He must have seen her in a window.  
Huffing, Birdie motioned for him to follow her with a jerk of her head, continuing up the steps. She heard the gentle thuds as Kid trailed her.  
Silence filled the hotel room as Birdie ate her breakfast, cross-legged on the bed. Kid sat in the desk chair, finding interest in the carpet.  
“You look like shit,” Birdie informed, sipping her apple juice.  
“I was up all night,” Kid responded, “Looking for you and information.”  
Birdie just hm’d, biting into her french toast.  
“I found that-”  
“Don’t. I don’t want to know what information you’ve found. Not until you go take a warm shower and we get your clothes dried. I don’t need you dying of hypothermia while we’re hunting a witch,” Birdie interrupted, frowning at her meister.  
Kid released a long breath, letting his eyes close for a long moment, “Birdie, I’m sorry we left Death City, and Calem. But I’m sure he’s being well-looked after. We’ll take care of this witch and be on our way back, alright? You don’t… you didn’t see them- Heidi and Erik. You didn’t hear Heidi’s last words. I need to avenge them, Birdie. Please, try to understand.”  
Birdie watched him doubtfully, placing her empty plate and cup on the end table, “I firmly believe that both Heidi and Erik would’ve wanted us to stay safe, to stay with Calem, rather than go after the witch who killed them. But I understand that’s not the way you think. But alright, we’ll take care of the witch and go back to Death City. Nonetheless, that doesn’t change the fact we can’t resonate as of now. How are we going to fight a witch, a seemingly very powerful witch, when we can’t resonate? There’s about fifty things that could go wrong.”  
“You can use your second soul crossbow, and I’ll utilize my martial arts,” Kid said simply.  
“If you think that’ll work,” Birdie shrugged. “Go shower, and just toss your clothes out the bathroom door so I can get them dried for you. We can talk after you’re not soaked to the bone.”  
Kid nodded, standing and shedding his ivory coat and suit jacket. Birdie bit the inside of her cheek as he began unbuttoning his white button-up, revealing a pale, sculpted chest, while he walked towards the bathroom. She spotted the worry stone necklace she had gifted him around his neck. A tiny smile graced her lips, thankful he hadn’t chucked it off the cliff after their fight.  
Shortly after Kid disappeared into the bathroom, the door was opened and shut as he set his snow-soaked clothes on the floor. Birdie called room service before collecting his suit jacket and adding it to his pile of clothes. She handed them off to the housekeeper, telling her to just dry them.  
Birdie fell over the bed, horizontally, and laid there as she waited for Kid to get out of the shower. She glanced at the mirror, a thought occurring to her. She could call Lord Death. Then again, Kid would probably be upset if he found out. Maybe not then. Sighing, she let her head drop face-first into the blanket. She heard the bathroom door open and close as Kid walked out.  
“How can you breathe in that position?” Kid asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“I don’t know, it’s as much of a mystery as your ability to take five minute showers,” Birdie grumbled, voice muffled by blanket.  
“I don’t have ten feet of hair to wash,” Kid shrugged, sitting in the desk chair.  
“Good point,” Birdie sighed, lifting her head.  
Kid was only wearing a towel around his hips.  
Birdie silently asked the world why it had to be like this.  
Before Kid could notice her blush, Birdie let her face fall back down into the blankets, murmuring, “Your clothes should be done in like 20 minutes, I think.”  
The pair sat in awkward silence as the minutes ticked by. Birdie refused to move her face from its burial in the blankets until Kid had actual clothes on. Kid had drawn open the curtains to shower light into the room from the window between the recliner and desk. The grim reaper watched the sun shine on the snow on the day after Christmas, holding a worry stone in each hand, still attached by the cord, and thumbing the dip in each one.  
A knock on the door stirred the two from their separate musings, and Kid got up to receive his clothes from the housekeeper, who had been quite startled by his appearance. The housekeeper quickly departed and Kid disappeared into the bathroom to change. Birdie stood up, adjusting her beanie to fit more snugly on her head. She had a feeling today was going to be a mess of a day.

“Where are we going exactly?” Birdie asked, looking down at the snowy ground as they soared overhead on Beelzebub.  
“I am following the evil presence,” Kid explained simply, curving the skateboard’s trajectory slightly to the right, plunging them into the mountains.  
“To evil presence, got it,” Birdie huffed, rubbing at her cheeks with her palm, trying to warm her face up.  
Sharp gray mountains rose around them, blanketed in snow and ice. Some of the mountains reached high enough so the tops disappeared into low clouds. It made Birdie feel very, very small. She could sometimes pick out a bear or a pack of wolves treading over the mountain face. They often looked like the size of ants. She saw a couple mountain goats hop from rock to rock, too.  
Birdie was trying very hard to count the trees by the time Beelzebub lowered to the ground, dropping them gently on a jagged rock.  
“We’re close. We walk it from here,” Kid announced quietly, golden eyes flicking back and forth as he searched for enemies.  
“Seriously?” Birdie groaned. “You could’ve told me to bring a pair of snow boots. Fuck.” She glowered at Kid, expressively pointing to her roller blades. “Not made for mountain climbing! In snow!”  
Kid just shrugged, “You’ll manage.”  
Birdie considered murder for a moment.  
Kid led the way through the mountains, kindly choosing the least snowy route. Birdie pulled her mahogany jacket around herself tighter, trudging behind Kid.  
Roughly enough time to catch hypothermia later, Kid stopped, crouching behind a jutting rock on the mountainside, “There.”  
Birdie crouched beside her meister, peering over the rock. Her eyebrows rose drastically. A shrine-like building stood amongst the snow, gray and mottled from age. The building was huge. The front door towered at least twenty feet before tapering off into a pointed dome, with a room, most likely an entrance hall, extending back from it until the walls shifted 90 degrees outwards, converting the second part of the building into a square. Spires rose at each corner of the building, tapering off into a possibly deadly point. Giant statues of people being tortured littered the flat, snow-covered expanse of a yard. People being whipped, their hands being cut off, their hearts torn out from their chests as they’re forced to stare at it. Most of the statues were crumbling, their faces indistinguishable from weathering. All of this covered in a delicate layer of snow. However, that wasn’t the worst part.  
The worst part was at least fifty of the chimeras they had to shove off a cliff to kill. At least ten of the chimeras had red manes instead of blue. Birdie didn’t want to know what red meant.  
“Um, yeah. I don’t think there are good enough cliffs in the vicinity to knock those off of. And we’re screwed if we get hit by their manes. So, what was that about you using martial arts to get through?” Birdie asked, sinking down behind the rock to look at Kid.  
Kid frowned, “We need to learn their weakness.”  
“Yeah, I don’t really feel like experimenting with one.”  
Kid glowered at her, “I meant that we need to go back to Death City so I can research in the library.”  
Birdie perked up at the mention of Death City, “Okay. Let’s go. I’m visiting Calem.”  
“Are you sure that’s a good-”  
“I’m. Visiting. Calem,” Birdie almost snarled, glaring daggers at her meister.  
Kid rose his hands in surrender, “Fine. Let’s go.”  
The grim reaper summoned Beelzebub, and the pair disappeared into the mountains.

The witch simply smiled and waited.

Sou had been having a wonderful dream of riding his motorcycle with Maka behind him, actually being nice to him for once.  
And then out of the blue she started yelling. The voice wasn’t Maka’s though. She was yelling his name, and knocking. What was she knocking on?  
Confusion got the best of the scythe and he blearily opened his eyes, keeping them squinted against the moonlight. He turned to his window.  
It was Birdie.  
Huh.  
Wait.  
Soul shot up in bed, blankets flying, as he stared at his fellow weapon. He scrambled out of bed and shoved open the window, not caring that he only wore a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, “Birdie!?”  
“Shh, it’s like 3 A.M. You don’t want to wake Maka up, now do you?” Birdie grinned, tossing her legs and feet into the room as she sat on the window sill.  
“Birdie, what the fuck?” Soul hissed.  
She shrugged, “Kid’s on a crazy vengeance mission. He’s researching shit in the library right now. Lemme see my boy.”  
“Vengeance?” Soul echoed, confusion apparent in his eyes.  
Birdie waved him off, “No time for that. Go tell Calem I’m here.”  
“You want me to wake him up?”  
Birdie rolled her eyes, “No, make sure he’s asleep when you bring him in here.”  
Soul narrowed his eyes at Birdie before shaking his head and stumbling out of his room. He shook Calem awake, who had been asleep on the couch. Calem gave Soul a look of both confusion and anger at being woken up at such a time. Soul mouthed ‘Birdie’ and jutted his thumb at his room. Calem was gone in a second, a quiet ‘oomph’ reaching Soul’s ears as Calem tackled Birdie in a hug.  
“Birdie! You came back!” Calem whisper-cheered, looking up happily at Birdie.  
Birdie pressed her lips against the top of Calem’s head and hugged him tightly as Soul walked back into the room, “I can’t stay though. Kid and I still have work to do. How are you doing?”  
She knelt down to be eye-level with the boy, searching his gaze. Calem visibly drooped, “I miss Mom and Uncle. I miss you and Kid…”  
Birdie smiled sadly, “Kid and I will be back to stay as soon as possible, but we have some work to do first.”  
Calem nodded sullenly, his forehead thunking against Birdie’s shoulder. The weapon combed her fingers through the boy’s hair, pressing her cheek against the top of his head, “We’ll be back soon, I promise.”  
Calem nodded, shoulders shaking with barely-held-back tears.  
“I love you, okay?” Birdie murmured as she pulled Calem away from her to look at his face. “And I’ll be back as soon as possible. We can cuddle all day and watch Disney movies.”  
“We can?”  
“Yes, every single one,” Birdie grinned.  
Calem offered a smile back, eyes less heavy. Birdie pressed her lips against his forehead in an almost motherly kiss before standing, “I have to go now. I don’t want to keep Mr. I-Need-Vengeance waiting. Take care of him, Soul.”  
Soul nodded as Birdie’s eyes met his. Then, Birdie climbed out the window, somehow making it to the ground from their apartment on one of the top levels without any injuries.  
Impressive considering she was wearing roller blades.  
Soul shook his head, helping Calem back into his couch-made-bed before settling down in his own bed.  
He had a feeling he shouldn’t have let Birdie leave.  
Calem was dreaming of Disney movies when Kid and Birdie left Death City once more, Kid with the knowledge to win, and Birdie with the determination to get back to Calem no matter what.

The witch waited with a grin over her masked face.


	18. Chapter 18

Kid and Birdie landed gently in the snow, behind a large slab of rock that somehow formed in the mountain’s life. Across the valley below them, the shrine with the many chimeras stood. Birdie had changed into a pair of black leather hiking boots in place of her rollerblades for easier snow travel.  
“The chimeras’ weakness is a small hole in their armor just behind their front leg. If you strike true, your hit will pierce its heart and it will die. So with that, how good is your sniping ability?” Kid murmured, peering over the slab at the prowling chimeras.  
“Um, pretty good?” Birdie’s transparent crossbow appeared in her hand. “Guess we’ll have to find out.”  
Kid nodded, summoning Beelzebub, “We’ll fly around the shrine, and you can kill chimeras.”  
“We’ll have to stay low, otherwise my aim will just send the bolt out through its rib, completely missing the heart,” Birdie warned, adrenaline rushing through her veins. She was ready.  
Kid nodded, jumping onto Beelzebub, Birdie following. The skateboard shot into the air, over the slab and across the valley. Birdie swung up her crossbow and took aim at the closest chimera. Her silver eyes narrowed in split-second focus just before she fired. The shot hit true, piercing the chimera’s heart. It let out a short, strangled cry before it dropped to the ground. The mane of blue strings faded away as its body succumbed to death.  
Birdie managed to take nine more down in their first wide circle around the shrine before the other chimeras noticed. The air was filled with the sound of growling as they lunged for the weapon and meister duo, tendrils of light shooting forward to try and grab them. Kid swerved backwards, Birdie barely managing to grab his shoulder to keep from tumbling off, as a chimera jumped up at them, its claws missing the skateboard by mere centimeters. The chimeras were fast, jumping far and high.  
“I’m going to fly faster, keep shooting!” Kid yelled back, the skateboard rocketing forward.  
Birdie aimed as best she could, but more often than not, her bolts glanced off the chimeras’ armor. Several dropped, but not nearly enough to be effective.  
Around and around the shrine they went, chimeras lunging and falling before them as Birdie shot bolts of silver. Dead chimeras began to outnumber live ones. Kid kept the path surprisingly even, as if he could tell where a chimera would next jump and avoid it beforehand. Birdie stood sideways on the skateboard, feet a little ways apart, one hand on Kid’s shoulder as she fired with the other. Only sixteen chimeras were left when a red-maned chimera jumped down from the roof of the shrine while they were at the back of the building, its front talons digging right into Birdie’s shoulders as it tore her off the skateboard, slamming her into the snow. Black coated Birdie’s vision, her lungs spasming. She saw red lines creeping towards her, heard Kid’s shout, felt talons piercing the skin on her shoulders. More on reflex rather than thought, she swung her arm up and shot a bolt to where she hoped the chimera’s face was. It let out a startled growl, jumping back at the flash of silver that nearly pierced its eye. Birdie rolled in the snow, vision fuzzy and shot at the chimera’s side. The silver bolt hit the weak point. The chimera dropped, red mane fading away.  
Birdie forced in a breath, convincing her lungs to work. She lay on her side in the snow, trying to focus back into the world, but her sight was content to be fuzzy with black creeping in on the sides. She felt arms grabbing her, pulling her up, and then air rushing by as she went up, and up, and up. Everything was so fuzzy.  
Kid straddled his skateboard, holding Birdie against his chest as Beelzebub shot up into the sky. When they were safe from the reach of the last chimeras, he looked over Birdie’s shoulders, pulling her mahogany jacket down. Blood seeped into her black turtleneck, four puncture holes in each shoulder, one in the front and three in the back. He felt inside the pockets of Birdie’s jacket, finally finding the bandages rolled up in the inner pocket. She had made it a point to have bandages with them on their current mission.  
“I apologize, Birdie, but I’m going to have to rip your shirt,” Kid informed, biting the bandages to hold them as he used both hands to tear the fabric of her turtleneck around her shoulders. The weapon let out a hiss as the fabric moved around her wounds. The pain certainly cleared up her previously fuzzy mind.  
Kid managed to rip ragged holes that opened up her shoulders to the air, the neck part of the turtleneck left intact. The puncture wounds didn’t look pretty. Black fuzz was stuck in some of the dried blood, the wounds driving in deep. Taking the bandages, he unwound them and wrapped the cloth around her shoulders, having to go underneath her arm and sliding the bandages underneath her shirt to criss-cross over her back and chest. Birdie’s breath had frozen when he passed over her breasts.  
“Sorry for the intrusion,” Kid murmured, tying off the bandages at her right shoulder.  
Birdie snorted, “Sure you are.” Kid helped her pull on her mahogany jacket. She was shivering violently.  
“Can you keep going? Or do we need to go back?” Kid asked.  
“Keep going. Maybe we can just sneak past the last chimeras?” Birdie wondered, turning to look at Kid.  
Kid nodded, carefully standing, pulling Birdie up with him. The skateboard wobbled as the weight along its surface shifted. “Hold on, I’m going to have to go fast.”  
Birdie hissed as she wrapped her arms around Kid’s waist, underneath his arms. Pain spiked in her shoulders whenever she moved them. The white bandages were fairly red already. She felt colder than she ever had in her life, her legs wet from melted snow.  
Beelzebub shot forward, curving around so they faced the front of the shrine, far below. Kid breathed slowly, golden eyes tracing his path into the shrine. One of the great doors was slightly open, just enough to get through.  
While Kid mapped out his path, Birdie looked around. They were even with wispy clouds, the sky bright blue above them. The mountains tapered off around them, snow-covered peaks bright against the winter sun. A flock of birds flew a few miles away, black silhouettes against the vast blue. It was serene and beautiful, so much different than down below. The serenity rushed away as Kid dived, knees bent as they shot downward. Birdie tightened her grip on Kid, feeling her feet lift slightly from the skateboard as they dropped. Air rushed past the duo as they straightened out just slightly, their momentum rocketing them forward so fast that everything was but a blur. Birdie saw the incoming door, nearly positive they were going to smash into it. Deciding she didn’t want to see her own death, she shut her eyes, head pressing against Kid’s shoulder.  
The duo shot through the ajar door; the chimeras behind them none the wiser as they prowled further out, their gaze directed upward to find their prey. Kid veered sharply to the left, the skateboard just barely missing the wall. It did not miss the small light fixture on the wall, however. Kid and Birdie tumbled, rolling down the hall with various grunts and groans as the skateboard disappeared from underneath their feet, clattering to the ground underneath the damned light fixture.  
“Ow, fuck. Ow,” Birdie groaned, laying on her back as she finally stopped rolling. “My everything hurts. What the fuck.”  
Kid groaned a few feet from her, “I hadn’t planned for light fixtures on the wall.”  
Birdie slowly sat up, positive that everything was bruised and potentially broken. Kid clambered to his feet, rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms carefully before walking over to Birdie. He crouched down, looping an arm around her waist before standing back up. Once Birdie’s feet were on the ground and stable, he walked over to Beelzebub and picked the skateboard up. It disappeared in a flash of purple and black light. “We should keep going.”  
Birdie nodded, carefully stretching out her limbs and rolling her hips to test for any broken bones. Surprisingly, there were none. She looked at the entryway they had just tumbled down. The floor was made of something similar to cobblestone, except ancient. The stones were cracked, covered in mud and potentially blood. The deep brown brick walls were covered in strange looping designs. Light fixtures jutted out of the walls every five feet or so. One of the said light fixtures was broken and bent from being smashed into by a skateboard going way faster than any speed limit allowed, ever.   
She followed Kid as he walked down the entryway, arriving to the main and only room in the shrine. Pillars, decorated with morbid carvings of tortured people, spaced around the room held the ceiling up around the room. The walls were mirrors, turning the room into a never-ending dimension of repeating images. At the back of the room, a fountain made of white marble, pristine compared to everything else in the shrine, spewed water from statues of four headless men. Their sculpted heads were held in their arms.  
Sitting on the lip of the fountain pool, the witch watched them. She wore a black gown that fell like water around her legs, a slit up the side to reveal a pale leg. The sleeves of the dress fell off her shoulders, covering all the way down her arms to just before her fingertips. Her hair was a deep blood red, framing her masked face and falling just below her shoulders. The mask was pure white, a clownish grin in gore-ish red and a blue teardrop under her left eye was painted on the white mask , and her eyes… Oh, her pure black eyes, seen through the wide slits of the mask. Birdie could barely stand to look into that inhuman darkness that encompassed all of the witch’s eyes- sclera, iris, pupil, all of it that deadly black. It was as if the souls of the dead were trapped within them and crying for help.  
The witch tilted her head, watching the grim reaper and his weapon. Her voice wasn’t muffled by the mask over her face. “You finally made it! I’ve been waiting for you two.” She picked up a dagger that had been resting on her lap, the blade a gleaming silver. “I’ve been waiting to get my revenge for killing my darling pet. I raised him from just an egg.”  
“You mean that kraken of yours,” Kid responded coolly, golden eyes hard.  
The witch nodded, her demeanor angry, “Yes. Needless to say, I had to return the favor. But destroying that neighborhood wasn’t enough. Your deaths should suffice. Or…”  
The witch disappeared from the fountain, reappearing behind Kid, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, dagger held loosely in her hand, “Maybe I should keep the grim reaper as my new pet.”  
Birdie shot a bolt of silver before Kid could even come up with a retort, “Like hell you will.”  
The witch let go of Kid to evade Birdie’s shot at her head, “Protective, little plaything. Too bad you couldn’t protect that little boy’s family.”  
Birdie glared, the laughing face of her nightmares flashing across her memory. The crossbow trained on the witch’s heart, however, refused to waver, “Shut your bitch mouth.”  
“Such foul language, didn’t your mother teach you any better?”  
Birdie snorted, “Didn’t your mother teach you that murder doesn’t make friends? Clearly not, otherwise you wouldn’t be living in this shithole.”  
As Birdie traded scathing blows with the witch, Kid’s head was pounding, his soul flaring with black. All he could see were the dead bodies of Heidi and Erik, the neighborhood blasted apart and in flames. He was repulsed by the touch of the witch over his shoulders. His vision turned red as he spun, eyes locked on the witch, moving fast enough to almost completely disappear and smash his elbow into the back of the witch’s head. She grunted, flipping onto her hands and back onto her feet in a straight somersault. She turned and looked at Kid, rubbing her neck, “That’s no way to treat a lady.”  
Her words fell on deaf ears. The grim reaper attacked ruthlessly, adhering to one of his more brutal martial art styles. The witch evaded almost every attack, blocking the others. Birdie took but a moment to jump into the fray, blasting the witch with bolts of silver. Flashes of transparent string stopped the bolts before they got close to the witch. Birdie gnashed her teeth, shooting with a sniper’s accuracy. Never was Kid in danger of being struck by a bolt.  
The witch sighed, watching as anger clouded the reaper’s judgement. Her high-heeled clad foot struck Kid in the stomach, flinging him into the air. He tumbled across the floor, caught by Birdie. Her hand clasped her meister’s shoulder, her crossbow pointed at the witch, who watched with her head tilted.  
Before Birdie could ask if he was alright, Kid stood with a grunt, a hand over his stomach. The witch grinned and wrapped a single thread around Birdie’s wrist while the weapon was focused on her meister. With a flick of the witch’s hand, Birdie was flung against a pillar, gasping as pain shook through her shoulders and deprived her lungs from breath for the second time that day. She slumped to the ground, choking on the absence of air. She shot a bolt through the string wrapped around her wrist, cursing herself for being distracted. She looked up to see Kid attacking the witch again. She was fairly certain Kid wasn’t even aware how or why he was attacking. His anger just fueled him on. The witch laughed and cajoled him, tempting his anger- tempting him to become more reckless.  
If only he had a clear mind, he’d be able to take her out easily. She’s just playing with him, Birdie thought, standing as her breath came back to her.  
Kid was tossed back again, an inhuman growl leaving his throat as he stood. His golden eyes were as hard as steel, his hair wild and face battered. There were cuts along his face and clothes where the witch had playfully sliced at him.  
“I must say, I’m underwhelmed. Why aren’t you two fighting together? Oh, I know. You can’t resonate,” the witch taunted, turning to Birdie. “That must be so horrid, unable to help your meister as anger consumes his soul. What a sad weapon you are; you can’t even protect one person. Much less the two you let die only a short while ago.”  
Birdie glared, refusing to give into the witch’s taunts, “I’m not taking criticism from an unnamed witch.” The weapon watched her meister from the corner of her eye. His chest was heaving as he glared at the witch, looking ready to pounce at any moment.  
The witch laughed, “Of course, how could I forget? My name is Akieris. I’m the puppeteer. Too bad you won’t live long enough to tell anyone.”  
Birdie raised an eyebrow, “We’ll see about that.” She fired her crossbow and Kid lunged to follow the bolt.  
Akieris laughed.

Birdie was starting to think that she would, indeed, die before she got to tell anyone Akieris’ name. Between keeping her maddened meister from dying by dagger, evading any attacks Akieris threw at her, handling the energy-draining crossbow, withstanding her injuries, and dealing with the remaining chimeras that had prowled in ten minutes ago, she was about to collapse and die from exhaustion.  
She dove down and to the side, dodging a chimera that subsequently rammed its head into the pillar she had been leaning on moments prior. She rolled onto her side and shot it through the heart before hopping up and shooting Akieris’ dagger away from Kid’s neck. She was getting really sick of Kid’s anger-driven blindness. He probably didn’t even know that the chimeras were in here and was taking more damage than he could probably fight with. She shot a red-maned chimera through the heart as it stalked Kid. That one dead, she turned to the remaining chimeras. Six blue chimeras were left. They snarled at her, crouching to jump. She huffed a sigh, “Any chance you could go back outside?”  
They lunged at her.  
“Yeah, didn’t think so,” Birdie sighed, rolling away and firing silver.  
She picked them off one by one, acquiring quite a few bruises and puncture wounds in the process. She was on the ground, partially under the body of a chimera. Her crossbow had dissipated after her last shot to kill said chimera. She wasn’t summoning her crossbow again anytime soon. As it was, Birdie could barely muster the energy to breath, much less pull her second soul from her body and shoot things with it. She groaned, shoving the chimera off and stumbling to her feet. She looked up, eyes wide as she saw Kid lunging at Akieris, completely blind to the dagger ready to stab him through the heart the moment he got close.  
Shit, shit, shit, Birdie repeated in her head, summoning some last reserve of energy and sprinting, lunging-  
-jumping in front of Kid, taking the dagger to the stomach. She choked as blood rushed up her throat. She wrapped her hands around Akieris’, holding the witch there.  
Black met silver.  
Energy crackled as Birdie’s second soul screamed- lashing its wavelength out, electrifying Akieris. The witch stumbled back, taking her dagger with.  
Birdie fell, vision hazy. She looked up at Kid, offering him a feeble smile. She wanted to tell him that she was fine, it was better than an arrow to the knee, but sleep was calling.

Kid stared down at Birdie, eyes wide as his senses rushed back to him. The red vision that had clouded his judgement cleared. The blackness in his soul reduced to the smallest smudge as he stared down at his weapon- the weapon that had just possibly sacrificed her life for him. Blood was pooling over Birdie’s abdomen, soaking what remained of her turtleneck after the brutal fight. Fear shot through the very essence of his being as he stumbled to his feet, Birdie in his arms. Exhaustion pulled at his limbs, whispering for him to just lie down and rest.  
He glanced down at Akieris, bent over and leaning against the fountain recovering from the electric shocks coursing through her body. He looked at the mirrors surrounding them.  
The grim reaper stumbled towards a mirror.  
Get her somewhere safe, save her, save her, save Birdie-  
He heard Akieris’ shout of anger as he hit the mirror, almost expecting to just meet glass.  
Kid fell through the rippling mirror, the portal torn open by Kid’s fear and desperation. He crashed into the infirmary bathroom, entering through the mirror over the sink. Kid winced as he hit the floor, Birdie held safe in his arms. He sat up, shoving the door open just as Nygus came to inspect the loud noise that had erupted from the bathroom.  
Nygus stared at him in disbelief.  
“Save her, please save her,” Kid gasped out, pushing Birdie into Nygus’ arms as his wounds and exhaustion knocked on the door to remind him that he wasn’t invincible; that even his body couldn’t take that much punishment without repercussions.  
He crumpled to the floor, the sweet sleep that had taken Birdie just moments ago claiming his consciousness.


	19. Chapter 19

Silver eyes opened to blackness, just blackness. Nothing else.  
“Oh, I must be dead,” Birdie mumbled, looking left and right. She was floating in the blackness, her lilac hair shifting around her as if underwater. She found she was naked, but wasn’t too concerned. Maybe the afterlife was all about nudism, who knew.  
“Surprisingly, no, not yet.”  
Birdie whipped around towards the voice. It was the boy she had seen in her last nightmare. He was naked too. Birdie decided to ignore that fact to instead look at his face. His eyes were dark molten silver, His hair was the same shade as her own. Birdie figured that if they weren’t in grav-zero, it would fall just short of his shoulders.  
“My twin?” Birdie asked, eyes wide.  
The boy nodded, “Yes, kind of. I’m more just a personification of his soul that got stuck inside you. It’s complicated, but know I mean you no harm. Quite the opposite, rather.”  
Birdie’s lips twitched into a smile, “I would hope so.”  
The boy returned the smile before sombering, “Birdie, you almost died protecting the grim reaper like that. He would’ve had a higher chance of surviving such a blow than you did. And I know you knew that.”  
Birdie frowned at the embodiment of her second soul and crossed her arms, “While he may of survived the blow I took for him, he would’ve been incapacitated and then Akieris would’ve been able to chop off his head. He had more stamina than I; on the off chance his senses did come back to him, he was the more likely candidate to get us out of there alive. I was about to pass out anyway, so I did something worthwhile with what consciousness I had left.”  
The boy groaned, frowning back at Birdie, “You’re reckless and could’ve died- probably would’ve too if you weren’t so stubborn.”  
Birdie shrugged modestly, “Is this dreamland, then?”  
The boy nodded, “Something like that. Your consciousness receded inside yourself as much as it could after the hit. Your physical body is stable, but you’ll probably be stuck here for awhile before you can go back to the physical world.”  
Birdie nodded, watching the boy curiously, “What’s your name?”  
“I don’t know, call me whatever you want,” the boy shrugged.  
She thought for a moment, looking her twin over, “Wren.”  
The boy smiled, “Then my name is Wren.”

Kid rested against the wall of the infirmary, looking at Birdie’s sleeping form. It’d been four days since they had crashed through the bathroom mirror; four days since Birdie nearly got herself killed and had to be in surgery for eight hours. Her beanie was still hiding her hair, he made sure of that for her sake. She was wearing a hospital gown, which just made her look even paler. The grim reaper bit his lip.  
This was his fault.  
If he had just controlled his anger, then Birdie wouldn’t be in the infirmary bed just a few steps away from death. Calem wouldn’t have sobbed when he heard about Birdie’s condition, running to the infirmary as fast as his legs could carry him to sleep with Birdie that first night. The witch might even be dead by now if he had just-  
“It looks like you’re overthinking,” Maka interrupted his thoughts, walking in and leaning against the wall beside him.  
Kid’s shoulders shook in a sorry attempt of laughter, “Yeah, I probably am.”  
Maka watched his face closely for a moment before turning to look at the unconscious Birdie, “Weapons really are something else, huh?”  
Kid nodded, running a hand through his hair, “Maka, when Soul was injured in your fight with Crona, did you feel like it was your fault?”  
Maka blinked before nodding, “Of course I did. I thought that if I had been stronger Soul wouldn’t have gotten hurt- that the entire situation could’ve been avoided if I hadn’t been so reckless. But as time went on, I realized that if it hadn’t been then, Soul would’ve used himself as a shield sometime else.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Soul has this mentality that as my weapon, he is willing to die for me should the need arise. I think Birdie shares that same ideal. She’ll protect you with her life, because that’s what she feels is the purpose of being a weapon- to protect her meister from death,” Maka explained.  
“I really wish she wouldn’t. She knows I’m more durable as a grim reaper than she is. So why would she risk her life like that when I would have had a better chance of living?”  
“I don’t think I can answer that for her. She either had her reasons or just acted on base instinct,” Maka shrugged, looking at Kid and clasping his shoulder. “Reasons aside, Birdie’s injury isn’t your fault, and I’m sure she’ll tell you that when she wakes up. And she will wake up. If I know anything about Birdie, it’s that she’s too stubborn to die.”  
Kid chuckled slightly, “You’re not wrong about that. Thank you, Maka.”  
The scythe meister smiled, nodding, “Do you want anything to eat? I can bring something down from the cafeteria.”  
“No, I’m fine. Nygus made it a point to force me to eat this morning,” Kid answered.  
Maka nodded, pushing herself off the wall and walking towards the door, “I haven’t eaten yet today so I’m going to head to the cafeteria.”  
Maka exited the room, closing the door behind her, leaving the grim reaper to his thoughts.

“It’s time to head back, Birdie. I’m sure your grim reaper is waiting for you.”  
Birdie startled, looking up to ask Wren to repeat himself just as she was tossed from the darkness into the brightness of life. She groaned. So bright.  
“Birdie?”  
The crossbow pried a silver eye open, meeting a worried golden gaze, “TK? Oh, ow.”  
Right, she got stabbed in the stomach. Makes sense that it would hurt.  
Forcing both of her eyes to open and function, she looked around at the infirmary. It appeared to be just before dawn outside. “How’d we get back? Is Calem alright?”  
“I opened a portal through a mirror. He’s worried sick about you; he’s probably sleeping at Soul and Maka’s right now,” Kid answered. “How are you feeling?”  
“Like shit, tbh,” Birdie huffed, a hand going to the bandages around her stomach.  
“I’m sorry. If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt,” Kid murmured, letting his head fall to stare at the floor between his feet. He sat on a wooden chair next to Birdie’s bed.  
Birdie looked over at her meister, gingerly moving her arm as her shoulder cried out in protest and flicking the top of his head gently. Kid jerked, looking up at Birdie in surprise.  
“I’m a weapon, have been in a gang, and lived on the streets for just over a year, getting hurt is nothing new,” Birdie smiled, letting her arm flop down, her hand hanging off the bed. “So no worries about fault. I chose to rush in front of you and get stabbed. It’s not like you pulled me in front of you and used me as a human shield.”  
“If I hadn’t let my anger consume me we could’ve avoided all of it,” Kid argued, golden eyes full of guilt.  
“While it’s true anger consumed you, I don’t think it’s really your fault. I’m gonna put that blame on Akieris.”  
“I’m still sorry.”  
“And you’re still forgiven.”  
The meister and weapon sat in silence, Kid still wallowing in his guilt and Birdie trying not to focus on all the pain her body was in. Easier said than done.  
“Hey, TK, do me a solid and hold my hand,” Birdie mumbled, stretching her hanging hand towards him.  
Kid obliged, taking her hand in his own, pulling them onto his lap. Birdie smiled, letting her eyes close for a moment. She missed the touch of his skin, the pleasant cool of his fingers on her. She had dearly missed her TK. Kid gently flipped her hand palm-up and began tracing the faded scars that crisscrossed her fingers and palm, collecting his thoughts.  
“You want to say something,” Birdie stated, opening her eyes to look at him. “What is it?”  
Kid smiled bitterly, “At this point, you’d deny me on the spot.”  
“Try me,” Birdie challenged.  
“Now isn’t the right time.”  
“There’s no time like the present.”  
“Birdie, I just…” Kid trailed off, sighing.  
The weapon’s eyes softened, “If you’re worried that I’m angry with you, I’m not. Sure, we had our differences while you were in vengeance-mode, but you’re my TK again. You’re still my meister and most-trusted person.”  
“I failed you, though. I failed everyone. I failed myself,” Kid clenched his jaw.  
“You got us out of a deadly situation. Saved my life by getting us out of that shrine as fast as physically possible. You haven’t failed anyone,” Birdie reassured. If only her body was healthy, she could give him a hug.  
The grim reaper lapsed into silence, knowing the words he wished to say. If only he deserved to say them to her, but not after what he put her through.  
“Do you believe in fate?”  
Kid looked down at Birdie, who had a far-off look in her eyes, “I can’t say that I do. I believe every person makes their own choices. Not some construct.”  
“We may make our own choices, but what about things we don’t have a choice to decide on? I didn’t get to choose being born with a stillborn twin, or to have two souls. You didn’t choose to be a grim reaper, or to run into me on your walk. Maybe fate decides those things, and tries to lead us in the right direction.”  
“To what?”  
“To whatever we’re supposed to do. To what we’re supposed to become. To whoever we’re supposed to be with. Y’know, red string of fate and all,” Birdie shrugged, cheeks dusted with pink.  
“What prompted this conversation?” Kid asked, not used to Birdie talking about things greater than their minds could truly comprehend.  
“A talk with my second soul,” Birdie murmured. “Kind of got me thinking about the cosmos and what life really is. Because really, who gets to talk with their second soul that is actually the embodiment of their dead twin brother?”  
Kid raised an eyebrow, “The things you do in your sleep are remarkable.”  
Birdie smiled, “I know, right? His name is Wren and he’s a little pissed at me but he can deal with it.”  
Kid snorted, “Still ever compassionate, I see.”  
Birdie grinned, looking down at her and Kid’s hands. His fingers gently rested over her palm, as if any more pressure would break her hand. She wrapped her fingers around his, his skin soft under her touch.  
Kid teared up, emotions he’d contained before now crashing through his blockades after that soft hold. With gentle urgency, he bent down and wrapped Birdie in a hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck as tears stained his cheeks and her hospital gown. Birdie faltered, unprepared for the hug. She wrapped her arms around him, intertwining her fingers against his back.  
“TK, what’s wrong?”  
“I thought you were going to leave, too,” Kid choked out, the worry and the guilt clawing their way to the surface, falling as tears.  
“No, I’m not going to leave,” Birdie reassured, resting her cheek atop his head. His position hurt her shoulder. She didn’t care, however. “I have too much to say and do before I go anywhere.”  
Kid’s fingers pushed into her back, holding her firm but gentle, ever aware that she was injured, “I’m worthless, if I wasn’t so worthless being here wouldn’t cause you so much pain.”  
“You’re not worthless,” Birdie soothed. “We’ve both had our fair share of pain. And that’s okay. That’s life.”  
Her meister was quiet, sniffling against her neck. Birdie untangled her fingers and rubbed small circles into Kid’s back.  
They didn’t move as the morning rays slipped in through the window, despite Kid’s back cramping and Birdie’s shoulder protesting. They embraced as their souls reminded each other that this was them. This was right. This felt right. Their souls found each other, slipping into the rhythm that had broken Christmas Eve.  
Their souls sang their song, soft as a butterfly’s wing, to the morning’s birds and the sky’s infinity.  
Yes, this was them.  
This was right.

Nygus sighed as she walked into the infirmary at seven. Kid had somehow managed to curl around Birdie, who was under the blanket while he was on top of it, as they slept. He used his arm as a pillow, his other arm over her ribs. One leg was straight, and the other was spread across hers. Birdie looked as if she had moved since the last time Nygus had seen her. Her hands were over Kid’s arm, a slight smile on her lips.  
Releasing another sigh, Nygus walked up to Kid and shook his shoulder, waking him up, “While I know you care for your weapon, cuddling her isn’t going to help her wounds. Please get up so I can change her bandages.”  
Kid flushed red from forehead to collarbone, scrambling off the bed and back into his wooden chair, sliding slightly away from Birdie’s bed and looking out the window.  
Nygus shook her head, pulling down Birdie’s blanket. Said patient let out a hiss at the unwelcome cold, one eye opening to a squint, “Excuse you- oh, hi, Nygus.”  
Nygus cocked an eyebrow, “I need to change your bandages.”  
“Can you wait to do it til noon?”  
“No.”  
“Damn.”  
“No swearing in the infirmary,” Nygus scolded teasingly. “I’m going to sit you up now.”  
Birdie winced, biting her lip as her muscles shifted around her wounds, “Ow.”  
Nygus un-tied Birdie’s hospital gown, ordering her to hold it up on her chest before peeling the gentle-adhesive flat pads off her shoulders. The puncture wounds were healing, slowly but surely. Nygus replaced the pads before tying the gown back in place. Keeping the blankets around Birdie’s hips, she pulled up the gown to reveal Birdie’s bandaged stomach. As Birdie held up the gown, Nygus unwound the bandages to reveal a jagged wound above Birdie’s navel that formed a crescent from Akieris twisting the blade as it passed through Birdie’s flesh. After re-bandaging the wound, Nygus stood, “Would you like food?”  
Birdie quickly shook her head, “Too much pain in that vicinity to eat right now.”  
“You’ll drink water, at least,” Nygus conceded, leaving no room for argument.  
Birdie nodded, turning to look at Kid, who was very interested in the happenings of the outside. Before Nygus left to get a water bottle for Birdie, she rearranged the pillows behind the young weapon so she could sit up comfortably.  
As Nygus left the room, Calem bolted in, “BIRDIE!”  
Birdie smiled, “Hey, love!”  
Calem ran up to her bedside, torn between jumping into her lap and not causing her pain.  
“You can sit beside me, just be careful of my shoulders and stomach,” Birdie waved him up onto the bed.  
Calem leaped up, snuggling into her side, “You’re safe now?”  
“I’m very safe now,” Birdie affirmed, leaning her head back. “TK, the sky can’t be that interesting.”  
Kid turned to her, shrugging nonchalantly, “The clouds were symmetrical.”  
Birdie laughed, quickly regretting the action as pain blossomed through her body, “Ow.”  
Calem yelped, hugging Birdie around the ribs, “No ow’s! Not allowed!”  
Birdie rubbed the top of his head, glancing between him and Kid, “He gets to move in, right?”  
Kid smiled, “Of course.”  
“We’ll watch Disney movies!” Calem grinned.  
“Every single one,” Birdie nodded, looking slyly at Kid. “You, too.”  
“Yes!” Calem cheered, scrambling off Birdie’s bed to jump into Kid’s lap, leaning his head back against Kid’s shoulder as he threw his arms up extravagantly. “It’ll be epic! We’ll watch Lion King first ‘cause I like lions.”  
Kid tousled the young boy’s hair, smiling, “It’s a plan then.”  
Calem smiled as he looked up at Kid and over at Birdie. He was happy some of his family returned to him.

It was a long two weeks of recovery for Birdie. Between throwing up most of her food from her irritated, wounded stomach, being worried over by literally everyone, and Kid’s nervousness around her, she was about ready to break the infirmary. Wren also chided her when she slept sometimes, making her eternally grumpy as she stumbled and laid around the infirmary all day.  
Birdie was lying diagonally across her bed when Soul walked in. The scythe raised an eyebrow at his friend, who looked closer to death than she had after the surgery, “Are you dying?”  
“I hate the infirmary. It’s so boring,” Birdie groaned, lifting her head to look at Soul. “Mercy kill, please.”  
“Nah, that wouldn’t be very cool,” Soul denied, sitting on the bed by her feet. “Other than hating the infirmary, how are you doing?”  
“Better. Homesick as fuck,” Birdie grumbled.  
“Hopefully Nygus will let you leave soon, Kid and Marie are getting Calem moved into the manor,” Soul informed.  
Birdie grinned, “If that room isn’t the coolest room on the planet I’ll have to fight someone.”  
Soul laughed, shaking his head before a serious look overtook his features, “Kid’s been freaking out, by the way. I’m pretty sure he’s ‘fixed’ everything in the manor ten times now.”  
“Yeah, I know,” Birdie admitted, “There’s just not much I can do in here about it. I’ll fix him once I’m outta here.”  
“In other words, you’ll confess your undying love for him?” Soul snickered.  
Birdie smacked his leg, “Don’t even. You’ve been completely smitten with Maka since I got you two to kiss. You guys are dating now, yes?”  
Soul pouted, beaten at his own teasing game, “Yes, we are. It’s pretty cool.”  
Birdie nodded, happy for them, “As for confessing to TK, would it be worth it?”  
Soul’s brows furrowed, “Well, I would think so.”  
Birdie hm’d, staring at the ceiling, “I guess we’ll see.”  
Soul pushed her arm gently, “Stop being cryptic and overthinking everything. That’s Kid’s profession, not yours.”  
Birdie snorted, sitting up, “Yeah, you’re right. So did you just come here to complain about my meister freaking out?”  
“Yeah, pretty much,” Soul answered, unashamed.  
“Your complaint has been filed for future deliberation. If that concludes your business, get out,” Birdie monotoned, trying very hard not to smile.  
“Some customer service this is, I’m gonna write a one-star review on this uncool behavior,” Soul stuck out his tongue, patting his fellow weapon’s head before standing. “Hope you get out of this prison soon!”

“Nygus, please, I beg. Let me go home,” Birdie repeated her usual request of the past week to the nurse, a day after Soul’s visit.  
Nygus sighed, looking Birdie over, “Fine, but you need to come in for a daily check-up.”  
Birdie had never been so elated, a grin crossing her face, “Kay, bye!”  
And she was out the door.  
Birdie happily rolled back to Gallows Manor, wearing a loose black sweatshirt (which had belonged to Kid once upon a time), black pajama shorts, her beanie, and rollerblades. Calem should be settled into his new room by now.  
She threw open the door and yelled, “My boys! I am home!”  
Calem was downstairs in less than fifteen seconds, wearing Superman pajamas despite it being just before noon, and hugged her. Kid came down a moment later, wearing a white T-shirt and black sweatpants, “Your boys?”  
Birdie nodded seriously, “Yes. Who wants hot chocolate?”  
“Me me me!” Calem raised his hand, bouncing.  
“I wouldn’t mind some either,” Kid nodded.  
Birdie smiled and took off her rollerblades before walking into the kitchen, happier than she could put into words at being home. She found the mugs where they always were, the cocoa mix where it always was- everything where it always was.  
It was such a relief to be home.  
She made the hot chocolate and carried the three mugs on a tray upstairs, discovering Calem and Kid in the former’s new room, which was decked out to be a little boy’s dream. The ceiling was covered in glow in the dark stars, meticulously placed by Kid earlier that morning. The walls were white, the floor was tile but with a large grass green rug covering the majority of it. His blue bedspread was covered in little comic frames of superheroes, one of his pillows was the Superman symbol. The white walls were decaled with Lion King characters doing random things and dinosaurs roaring. The bookshelves were filled with action figures. Maka and Soul had spoiled the boy when it came to toys. A flat-screen TV hung on the wall across from his bed. The room was probably the most colorful in the entire house. Birdie decided she wouldn’t have to fight anyone.  
As she walked in, Calem was showing Kid his Batman and Superman action figures, making sure to tell him how cool it was that Superman’s eyes lit up red when a button was pressed because ‘he has super duper cool laser vision.’  
“While I’m sure Kid would love to learn more, I think it’s Lion King time, don’t you?” Birdie asked, announcing her presence as she handed hot chocolate to the boys before setting the tray on the bedside table and turning on the TV and putting in the disc, borrowed from Marie along with an entire stack of Disney DVDs.  
Calem cheered as the Lion King began, drinking his hot chocolate with the childish joy Birdie had been worried he would lose after the trauma of his family dying.  
Calem sat between Birdie and Kid on his bed as they watched Disney movie after Disney movie- princess ones included.  
They laid in bed all day, the two teenagers often dozing off but Calem was focused on all the movies, happily cheering and actually crying when something sad happened. But even his energy couldn’t last forever. By the time Cars got past its opening credits, the little boy was fast asleep; a gentle snore escaped his lips. Birdie looked down at him, kissing the top of his head, motioning for Kid to carefully get off the bed without disturbing the sleeping child. Birdie followed suit, shifting Calem down and tucked the blankets around his shoulders.  
“Goodnight, Calem,” Birdie murmured, pressing a kiss against his forehead.  
Calem mumbled something in his sleep, rolling over and burrowing into his blankets.  
Kid turned the TV off, holding the door open for Birdie before closing it behind them, leaving Calem in his starlit room.  
Birdie stretched, careful to keep her arms low to agitate her shoulders as little as possible. She watched as her meister rubbed at his palms with his fingers, one of his nervous tics. “Want to go on the roof? It’s forecasted to be a clear night.”  
“Will you need help getting up there?” Kid asked, glancing down at her shoulders.  
Birdie opened her mouth to tell him that she was independent and could get up herself, but closed it with an indignant huff, nodding.  
Kid chuckled, “We’ll crawl out through my room.”  
They walked down the tiled hall a few doors down, slipping into Kid’s room. Birdie let the scent of his room sink in as Kid opened his window. She missed it.  
“Come here,” Kid motioned for her and she obliged, walking over.  
He lifted her onto his shoulders, giving her an easy way up onto the roof without working her shoulders too much. He climbed up after her, sitting next to her on the mildly cold evening. Birdie pulled off her beanie, tousling her hair before letting it drift around in the wind. She held the beanie in her lap, thumbing over the sewed-in words.  
Kid was more than a little pleased to know that Birdie trusted him enough to take her beanie off without it even being referred to. He watched her as she watched the stars, twinkling beside the ever-grinning moon. It was dim in Death City, the lampposts far below them. Each star was unhindered in its glow.  
“Do you really believe in the red string of fate?” Kid asked quietly, voice a little nervous, looking down at their hands, close but untouching.  
Birdie didn’t look away from the stars, “I don’t know. It’s hard not to, especially looking up into the night sky like this. It makes me feel like I’m just along for the ride, sometimes. I’m just small, a regular human. I’ve had so much happen in my life that it’s hard not to believe in fate, so might as well believe in something good about it, yeah?” She shifted her gaze to him, a melancholy smile on her face. “But you’re a god, so it makes sense you wouldn’t believe in fate. Your choices are your own. Maybe you move outside the realm of fate… Out of reach.”  
“Out of reach?” Kid echoed, eyebrows furrowed.  
Birdie nodded, looking back up at the stars, “You’re infinite, like the stars. So even if… even if by some miracle, yours and my red string were one in the same, I’m just a speck compared to you- to your lifespan.”  
Kid’s hand brushed hers, their pinkies just barely touching. She turned to him, sad silver meeting concerned gold, “What are you saying, Birdie?”  
“I’m saying that should you feel what I feel for you, it would only hurt you in the end,” Birdie murmured, looking down at their hands. “The red string would break long before you reach your end.”  
Kid was silent for a moment, heart hammering in his chest. He watched Birdie with honey eyes, “‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’ It’s a couple lines from the poem In Memoriam A.H.H. by Alfred Lord Tennyson.” He explained, noticing Birdie’s confused look. “I had never really understood it, having not known what love is.”  
Birdie watched him, quiet. He could feel her hand trembling.  
“I think you taught me what love is, Birdie,” Kid murmured. “Maybe I had felt it before- but I never knew what it was. Until you.”  
Birdie turned so she was sitting cross-legged, facing him. Only her fingertips touched his.  
“I’d like to indulge in the thought that we share the same red string. Even if I don’t deserve it in the least,” Kid’s lips twitched into the ghost of a bitter smile. “I really don’t deserve your love at all.”  
“You do,” was Birdie’s automatic answer, ever ready to comfort her meister in times of self doubt.  
Kid smiled, some unknown confidence blooming in his chest, “Even if I’ll live longer than you, I’d rather follow Tennyson’s words and love you while I have the chance,” Kid turned to mirror Birdie’s position, taking her hand in his own, “if you’d allow me to.”  
Birdie nodded, not trusting herself to speak as joy blocked her throat.  
Instead, Birdie did what Birdie did best and acted on impulse, climbing into Kid’s lap, straddling his hips, and kissing him for everything she was worth.  
Kid’s arms wrapped around her waist as her fingers found their way to his hair, running through the strands and tugging when she wanted his head to move.  
They fumbled around each other, both inexperienced in the art of kissing, but soon they moved as one. Kid smiled into the kiss, his back somehow now pressed against the roof of his manor as Birdie lay on top of him, her lips warm and sweet against his.  
Their souls sang their song, louder than thunder, to the stars, to Fate, to the world and the cosmos that chill January night.  
Death the Kid’s life was full of sometimes, but their souls’ song would be always.


End file.
